You say you don’t know anybody at the party? No problem! Many of the guests come from far and wide and have never met the other guests. At a typical wedding reception, you’ll find the names of the bride and groom on entrance signs and napkins. Just approach any guest and say, “Good to see you again! Doesn’t (bride’s first name) look lovely?” He or she may ask, “Have we met before?”
Just smile, introduce yourself and if they don’t offer, ask, “What’s your name?” Once they give you their name, excuse yourself and approach another guest. Introduce yourself and ask if they know the person you just met? They will assume you must know some of the guests they don’t know. Either way, you can casually engage in light conversation. If anyone should ask about your relationship to the bride or groom, just say, you know them from “School” and move on to the next guest.
Keep doing this and soon everyone there will know who you are – except the bride and groom. Chances are they will not even notice you because they will be too distracted and involved with all the proceedings.
Who knows? You might even wind up as the life of the party! As a harmless challenge, just for fun, I have crashed many wonderful parties and believe it or not, some of the strangers I met became longtime friends.
(See “Networking” on page 32.)
