I've always wanted a receiving line at my wedding. Unfortunately, my future mother-in-law has had MRSA in the past. It can be spread by shaking hands. Any receiving line alternatives? Both of our families live out-of-state and have not met the majority of our guests. I don't want to announce her medical condition, but I also do not want any of our guests to become ill. - Reader Germaphobe

We touched on the receiving line alternative issue way back in 2010 and the issue will always be relevant. MRSA is no joke and finding a way to greet without contact is a great idea for everyone.

Let's talk about a few alternatives to the receiving line that will minimize contact and maximize sweet moments of connecting with your guests and expressing gratitude. You'll still probably need to discreetly mention the no-contact needs since people will likely go in for the handshake or hug no matter what, but these activities will help.

Pare it down to just the couple

If you'd still like a traditional receiving line, you could cut out the rest of the crew and just have you and your partner do the greeting. You're the ones they want to see anyway, so you likely won't get complaints. Plus, the line will move a lot faster when it's just two people to greet.

Greet guests as they enter the reception

If you're not going to be occupied when guests enter the reception venue/area, plan to greet them as they arrive. Your crew can head in and you and your partner can handle the hugging and handshakes instead. Bonus points to handing them a favor or a drink, too!

Use a photo booth as your mingling session

With a bunch of props at hand, there are less ways to make actual contact. Set up a photo booth to gives you time to greet everyone, get some rad photos, and skip the receiving line altogether.

Have a cocktail reception

Before or after the ceremony, arrange to serve drinks and/or a few appetizers to get everyone chilled out and mingled up. Plus, you can put the receiving line members behind the food table to keep a barrier between you and the guests.

Serve dessert or drinks to your guests

Elle and Bear ran with the idea of serving dessert by grabbing platters of muffins and walking them around right after the ceremony. Post-ceremony yummies, arms too full to do hugs - it works. Here's what Elle said about it:

We wanted to serve our guests, not just be served by staff ... It was great to have a quick chat, hug, and offer tasty treats in this way because these people had done so much for us.

Visit guests at their tables

Greeting groups of guests at their tables while they're eating is a great way to talk to larger groups and keep your distance while they nosh. You can also have your mother-in-law skip this part, avoiding the issue altogether.

Do ye olde video messages

Designate someone with a camera to record messages from guests just like they did in wedding movies in the '80s. They can say something sweet to you and you'll have lots of video memories to relive later on. Win-win.

Now it's your turn: what's a great receiving line alternative that you've seen done?