Logistics of cocktail reception? 🥂

I don't think that's necessarily true. If you only know the bride and groom, does that mean you're not going to interact with anyone else while they're busy? That sounds like a very... what's the word... cliquish? segregated? fragmented - like instead of one big wedding it's a bunch of isolated islands/groups. Reception halls, wedding venues, parks, whatever - they are specifically designed to be sociopetal spaces so the idea that there will be no mingling... sounds inherently wrong and boring to me.

This is, of course, just my opinion. There will always be people who are more quiet and shy, but there should be enough friendly faces around that they don't feel that they are among strangers and can enjoy themselves.

Yes, it's true. Some people are very introverted, and others have social anxiety. Just because you're not affected by these issues does not mean that no-one else is.

Yes - I acknowledged that - but the space itself should still be designed to encourage social interaction.

I have social anxiety, I also CAN'T stand for long. Without seating, what would i do?? People aren't going to give up their seat just so i can sit. Also, with knowing a few people there, would i feel comfortable sitting with people i don't know?? Probably not. Even when i'm with my groups of friends i can be shy and quiet. No two people are the same. If i couldn't sit somewhere, there wasn't enough food, and i felt uncomfortable because i didn't really know many people, i'd honestly leave. I'd hope my friend/family member would understand when i explained i was leaving.

There needs to be seats for everyone. There needs to be enough food for everyone seeing as how they'll possible miss a meal or two. Heavy appetizers wouldn't hold me or FH over if we didn't eat lunch, and now no dinner. Assigned seating isn't that difficult to do. Heck even WW has a built in tool for it.

Also, Adults can be very cliquish. You'd think they aren't, but indeed it happens.. I've witnessed it in several settings.

I know it's a UO around here but we did something like this--heavy passed apps, food stations for dinner, etc, no seating chart but plenty of seating for all, and it worked. we had a variety of seating options (large rounds, cruiser tables, a bunch of couches and coffee tables). our venue coordinated the food timing. we had about an hour of cocktails while they flipped the larger room over from ceremony setup to dinner setup. talk to your caterer about setup and timing, and if you have an MC ask them to announce the shifts from cocktails to dinner stations (or your DJ if you have one). we did a couple of toasts during cocktail hour, a couple more during "dinner," cut the cake, and then danced the night away. i got to eat dinner with old friends, we got to mingle and check in with all of our guests over the course of the night, and folks kept telling us they really liked the opportunity to mingle. it was a dream.