Washing at Weddings and Elsewhere

One is not allowed, at least ab initio, to wait a long time between washing for bread and eating the bread. Nor is one allowed to leave one building and enter another even if done quickly. (See Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 161 and commentators.)

This leads to a familiar dilemma at weddings where the washing station is frequently across the hall from one's table. The same is the case in many restaurants. Similarly, this arises on Sukkos when one washes indoors and then must trek out to one's sukkah to eat. In my synagogue, we wash for se'udah shelishis right outside the bathroom and then have to walk down the hall to the women's section where we eat. What is one to do in such a scenario? There are three possible solutions:

1. According to the Shulhan Arukh Ha-Rav and the Arukh Ha-Shulhan, when one can only wash in a distant place then the delay is considered necessary for the meal and is not problematic. This is not a popular position among posekim but is certainly valid.

2. Wash and eat at the washing stations. There are frequently little pieces of bread left at the washing stations so people can eat them after washing. This is problematic because:
1) It is extremely unsanitary.
2) People frequently say the blessing on the bread, stick it in their mouth and then walk away. They must really remain in the same relative place until they swallow the bread.
3) I have a serious problem with people eating standing up or walking. It may not be halakhically prohibited, but a ba'al mussar only eats sitting down.
4) Whenever possible, one should recite the blessing for bread on a whole or large piece of bread. You have one waiting for you at the table, so why recite a blessing on such a small piece?

3. The Oneg Yom Tov (no. 18) notes that drying one's hands is the completion of the washing. Therefore, if one washes far away and then walks to one's table, all the while drying one's hands, one is not delaying after the washing because the washing has not yet finished. This way, there is no delay between the washing and eating the bread. The Piskei Teshuvos (ad loc., n. 19) points out that one should recite the blessing on the washing near the washing station and then proceed to the walking/drying.