I travelled to a family wedding at the weekend.
Using your method, I could say,
"There I met my parents, aunts and cousins and the groom and his family."
However, using your student's method, I could say,
There I met up with my parents, aunts and cousins and met the groom and his family."
Which tends to (correctly) suggest that I had no prior knowledge of the groom and his family and this was our first introduction.....and doesn't need any additional clarification.