When a couple has decided to marry, the wedding and reception are the main events that require the most planning, preparation, and coordination. The marriage ceremony and the following celebration are where you’ll make things official around your closest family and friends; however, there are other events that deserve your attention and consideration. One of these is the rehearsal dinner. This is usually a pre-wedding event where the engaged couple celebrates those who have helped with the wedding, including planners, in-laws, and others in your wedding party.
Exploring the Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner was a way for in-laws to meet before the wedding. This was also an opportunity for the couple to thank loved ones for their love and support. Typically, the wedding would be paid for by the bride’s family, and the groom’s family would plan and fund the rehearsal dinner. Today, these gatherings are often planned and paid for by the engaged couple. If you’re thinking about having one for your nuptials, consider these tips.
Choosing a Special Place Rehearsal
You may have several options when it comes to a venue for your rehearsal dinner. Some wedding venues also have facilities to host a dinner. If you haven’t picked a location, consider a place with special meaning to you as a couple. It could be the place where you first met or a restaurant where you had your first date. Choosing a place of significance to you or your family helps make the occasion all the more special for everyone involved.
Embracing a Theme Rehearsal
You’ve heard of themed weddings and receptions. Why not have a themed rehearsal dinner? A themed event gives you and your guests an opportunity to flex their creative muscles while also having some fun. Perhaps you and your partner compromised on a theme for the wedding. If so, the pre-wedding dinner could allow both of you to enjoy themes. You’re not just limited to decor but also attire, menu, and activities.
Opting for Brunch
In Canada and other parts of the West, brunch has become a fun social activity for people of all ages. It’s also a nice alternative to dinner. Do you have a favorite spot for brunch? Check to see if they host private parties or can seat large parties. Enjoy the company of your future spouse and in-laws over your favorite breakfast and non-breakfast bites and beverages.
Taking It Easy
If your wedding will be grand, elaborate, and over the top, consider having a more laid-back gathering for loved ones. Feel free to go casual with the menu and save the fuss and muss for the big day. You could make your rehearsal dinner a “game night” where everyone plays group games or board games. The goal here is not to work too hard, especially the night before you say, “I do.”
Hitting the Town
If you’ve got friends and family coming from out of town, you could use your pre-wedding event as an opportunity to show them what your city has to offer. You don’t necessarily have to play tour guide, but as an experienced local, you can show them the hot spots as well as the hidden jewels.
Having a Blast
Rehearsal dinners don’t necessarily have to be a meal. Consider an unconventional activity such as rock climbing, bowling, or playing miniature golf. These activities are fun for a group and provide a relaxed environment for people to meet and get to know each other a little better. This is also a good alternative to a bachelor or bachelorette party, which may not be everyone’s idea of a good time.
When it’s time to tie the knot, there are other opportunities besides the wedding and reception to connect with your nearest and dearest. Rehearsal dinners are a great way to spend more time with the ones you love. Be creative and have fun!
The rehearsal dinner is important when it comes to the final days of planning a wedding. This is the opportunity to run through the layout of the event and ensure every member of the party is on the same page. However, couples have taken to using the dinner for more than simply rehearsing. In fact, plenty of people use this event as an excuse to get hyped for the wedding itself. Since the rehearsal dinner usually happens the night before the wedding, this is a great opportunity to celebrate with those closest to you before your big day.
Think About the Rehearsal Dinner Music
Music sets the mood for any event. If you want to make the dinner feel less formal, consider hiring a band to play some tunes. Unlike hiring live entertainment for your wedding, which can cost a small fortune, bringing a band to play for an hour or two is a more manageable expense. Plus, it is a nice way to treat your family members and friends to a bit of fun after all the work they put in to make your big day come to fruition.
The entertainment doesn’t have to be passive, either. Use the band as an excuse to get up and dance. While you’re definitely going to get down during your actual wedding, hyping up your crew by busting out some early moves can make for some truly remarkable memories.
Create Some Special Decor
The guest list for the rehearsal dinner is short. Typically, the only people invited are the immediate family members of the couple and anyone involved in the events of the day, such as the wedding party. As a way of saying thanks, you might find that creating some personalized decor can be a great solution. Print out some of your favorite photos of you and the people who will be in attendance and create a collage. Whatever you decide to do with your DIY decor, make it simple and personal.
Take the Party Elsewhere
While you need to be in the venue in some capacity for the rehearsal, you don’t need to limit the festivities of the evening to one location. In fact, many couples these days are opting for rehearsal dinners that allow the group to have an enjoyable experience. This can be something very basic like going to grab drinks at a local bar or an activity that is a bit more involved, like a trip to a vineyard or a cruise around the harbor. Try to be reasonable with whatever you do, especially if the wedding is the next morning.
If you don’t have access to the venue, you may wish to just have people over to your house for a preliminary meetup. This makes it a lot easier to create a fun and easy experience for the crowd. Whether you break out a karaoke machine for some crooning from your crew or heat up the competition with some board games, a rehearsal held at home can be the kind of relaxed celebration you need to feel the excitement for your nuptials.
Make an Unforgettable Rehearsal Dinner Menu
Offering food during the rehearsal dinner is a given, as the name of the event itself implies a meal. You can make the experience a bit more exciting by creating a menu that your guests will adore. Unlike the wedding menu, which needs to appeal to a larger crowd, the food you serve during the rehearsal can be crafted to the tastes of the few people you’re feeding. Whether this means a menu of comfort foods or an international selection of dishes for a crowd of adventurous eaters, put some thought behind your final spread.
The rehearsal dinner doesn’t need to be an involved affair, but you should definitely think about how to make the most of it. Play your cards right and you’ll be able to use this event as a way of launching right into the wedding festivities.
There’s no real history for the wedding rehearsal dinner, but The Knot suggests that rehearsal dinners became a thing in the 1950s when weddings became more of a theatrical event. Everyone needed a way to come together to be on the same page for the wedding. Today, the rehearsal dinner can be a way for families to have a low-key evening together before the nuptials. The rehearsal dinner can complement the wedding and kick off the festivities. If you’re looking for a way to really make the evening a grand occasion without upstaging the main event, here are some trends in rehearsal dinners.
Pick a Theme
A theme pulls together any party, and a rehearsal dinner is no different. You don’t need to get very elaborate — just choose something that gives you a planning element, such as a favorite color or location. You’re creating an experience for your guests. Even though the rehearsal dinner is a smaller group of people, it’s usually your closest friends and family members, so this gives you an opportunity to be more personal and make the evening more interactive.
Rent a Special Venue
Because this party is smaller than your reception, you can get creative with the location. Hold the rehearsal in the afternoon to let your guests get to the venue at a reasonable hour and get home to sleep before the big day. Look around your community for interesting places: a riverside cruise, the aquarium, a winery or some local attraction. Get creative with the venue for a completely different rehearsal dinner.
Bring in Entertainment
Hire a local band or some other form of entertainment. This eases the host’s duties to make sure everyone is having a good time and lets everyone relax before the big day. Live performers can really infuse personality and fun into your dinner. It doesn’t even have to be musical. Find a flair bartender who turns the cocktail hour into a circus. Acrobats or belly dancers can be very entertaining. Maybe you could have a palm reader or tarot reader to provide personal readings for your guests.
Get Creative With the RehearsalMenu
Remember all those ideas you had for your wedding reception food that might have been too much for a large party? Use some of those ideas at the rehearsal dinner. Host a chocolate fountain or ice cream sundae bar. Have a fire pit to make s’mores after dinner. Create a large charcuterie board. Develop a couple of special cocktails just for the rehearsal dinner. Indulge in that unique entrée you both loved.
Plan Events for Plus-Ones and Out-of-Town Guests
Every rehearsal dinner has that lull at the beginning when the main party hasn’t arrived but the extras are coming in. Put that time to good use by planning activities for the start of the party. Have a photo booth. The wedding party often doesn’t get a chance to enjoy those amenities at the wedding reception. Have some group games available for guests to play while they’re waiting for the rehearsal to wrap up. Find a way for guests to engage with each other informally to ease any tensions between the dates of the bridal party and family from out of town.
Who Hosts the Rehearsal Dinner?
Traditionally, the groom’s family would host and pay for the rehearsal dinner. As weddings are more diverse, traditions are changing. The one thing you can do to make the rehearsal dinner go a little smoother is determine who is responsible for hosting and planning it. Then turn it over to the host.
Your rehearsal dinner may not be the main event, but it’s okay to make it special. Incorporate these ideas or your own to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience.
While not completely necessary, the rehearsal dinner provides a way to rehearse the wedding and introduce friends and family in a more intimate setting.
There are plenty of traditions surrounding weddings. Some of these rituals make total sense, like the act of carrying flowers or the symbolism behind exchanging rings. Still, some modern traditions can seem a bit ridiculous. The rehearsal dinner for the event, for example, can easily come across as a pointless activity meant to squeeze some additional cash out of you. There are many opinions on rehearsal dinners and whether or not they are necessary for a wedding. If you are unsure, now is a great time to explore the details and see what fits best for your needs.
The Main Idea
First, it can be helpful to take a closer look at the rehearsal dinner and why it exists. Though a fairly recent development, rehearsals have become commonplace for most couples. The idea is to bring together all of the most important players in the ceremony before the day of the actual event. During the rehearsal dinner, everyone gets on the same page and learns exactly what he or she must do in order to ensure the celebration goes off without any issues. Though somewhat straightforward, most dinners have strayed a bit from this idea.
Instead of being looked at as a rehearsal, many couples wind up using their rehearsal dinners as a chance to party. This is easily evidenced in the fact that couples have started moving their rehearsal dinners earlier in the week. Originally, the rehearsal was held the night before the actual event. Now, couples have the dinner several nights before so guests can drink and party without fear of having to wake up early the next day for the wedding.
Important Meetings
For the most part, the people present at your rehearsal dinner will be the most important people to you and your significant other. Parents, siblings, and best friends will all be in attendance, ready to listen to what will be expected of them at the ceremony. Though it stands to reason most of these people have met before, this is not always going to be the case. If your parents have never met your significant other’s parents before, this could be the opportunity you have been waiting to arrive.
Bringing together all of the important people in your life under one roof before your wedding can be good for your spirits. Simply looking around the room and seeing the smiling faces of those you have come to trust and love over the years can be warming to the soul. The dinner allows you a chance to “rehearse,” of course, but it also provides you with an easy setting where you can introduce friends and family members in a more casual setting than your actual ceremony.
Do You Need One?
Finally, you might be wondering whether you need a rehearsal dinner at all. These events can be costly, which is unappealing when you are already paying a small fortune for the wedding itself. In truth, this dinner is not necessary. For the most part, it is just another chance to eat and drink with people before the wedding. If you can’t afford a rehearsal dinner or deem it unimportant for your plans, simply provide your friends and family members with the information they need for your wedding in your own way.
Planning for your wedding can often be a great deal of work. When faced with decisions like whether you need to host a rehearsal dinner, it is best to really explore all of your options. Though rehearsal dinners might make for an easy meet-and-greet scenario before the day of your actual wedding, they are not always needed and can often be eliminated from the plans without any serious repercussions or issues.
When a couple has decided to marry, the wedding and reception are the main events that require the most planning, preparation, and coordination. The marriage ceremony and the following celebration are where you’ll make things official around your closest family and friends; however, there are other events that deserve your attention and consideration. One of these is the rehearsal dinner. This is usually a pre-wedding event where the engaged couple celebrates those who have helped with the wedding, including planners, in-laws, and others in your wedding party.
Exploring the Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner was a way for in-laws to meet before the wedding. This was also an opportunity for the couple to thank loved ones for their love and support. Typically, the wedding would be paid for by the bride’s family, and the groom’s family would plan and fund the rehearsal dinner. Today, these gatherings are often planned and paid for by the engaged couple. If you’re thinking about having one for your nuptials, consider these tips.
Choosing a Special Place Rehearsal
You may have several options when it comes to a venue for your rehearsal dinner. Some wedding venues also have facilities to host a dinner. If you haven’t picked a location, consider a place with special meaning to you as a couple. It could be the place where you first met or a restaurant where you had your first date. Choosing a place of significance to you or your family helps make the occasion all the more special for everyone involved.
Embracing a Theme Rehearsal
You’ve heard of themed weddings and receptions. Why not have a themed rehearsal dinner? A themed event gives you and your guests an opportunity to flex their creative muscles while also having some fun. Perhaps you and your partner compromised on a theme for the wedding. If so, the pre-wedding dinner could allow both of you to enjoy themes. You’re not just limited to decor but also attire, menu, and activities.
Opting for Brunch
In Canada and other parts of the West, brunch has become a fun social activity for people of all ages. It’s also a nice alternative to dinner. Do you have a favorite spot for brunch? Check to see if they host private parties or can seat large parties. Enjoy the company of your future spouse and in-laws over your favorite breakfast and non-breakfast bites and beverages.
Taking It Easy
If your wedding will be grand, elaborate, and over the top, consider having a more laid-back gathering for loved ones. Feel free to go casual with the menu and save the fuss and muss for the big day. You could make your rehearsal dinner a “game night” where everyone plays group games or board games. The goal here is not to work too hard, especially the night before you say, “I do.”
Hitting the Town
If you’ve got friends and family coming from out of town, you could use your pre-wedding event as an opportunity to show them what your city has to offer. You don’t necessarily have to play tour guide, but as an experienced local, you can show them the hot spots as well as the hidden jewels.
Having a Blast
Rehearsal dinners don’t necessarily have to be a meal. Consider an unconventional activity such as rock climbing, bowling, or playing miniature golf. These activities are fun for a group and provide a relaxed environment for people to meet and get to know each other a little better. This is also a good alternative to a bachelor or bachelorette party, which may not be everyone’s idea of a good time.
When it’s time to tie the knot, there are other opportunities besides the wedding and reception to connect with your nearest and dearest. Rehearsal dinners are a great way to spend more time with the ones you love. Be creative and have fun!
The rehearsal dinner is important when it comes to the final days of planning a wedding. This is the opportunity to run through the layout of the event and ensure every member of the party is on the same page. However, couples have taken to using the dinner for more than simply rehearsing. In fact, plenty of people use this event as an excuse to get hyped for the wedding itself. Since the rehearsal dinner usually happens the night before the wedding, this is a great opportunity to celebrate with those closest to you before your big day.
Think About the Rehearsal Dinner Music
Music sets the mood for any event. If you want to make the dinner feel less formal, consider hiring a band to play some tunes. Unlike hiring live entertainment for your wedding, which can cost a small fortune, bringing a band to play for an hour or two is a more manageable expense. Plus, it is a nice way to treat your family members and friends to a bit of fun after all the work they put in to make your big day come to fruition.
The entertainment doesn’t have to be passive, either. Use the band as an excuse to get up and dance. While you’re definitely going to get down during your actual wedding, hyping up your crew by busting out some early moves can make for some truly remarkable memories.
Create Some Special Decor
The guest list for the rehearsal dinner is short. Typically, the only people invited are the immediate family members of the couple and anyone involved in the events of the day, such as the wedding party. As a way of saying thanks, you might find that creating some personalized decor can be a great solution. Print out some of your favorite photos of you and the people who will be in attendance and create a collage. Whatever you decide to do with your DIY decor, make it simple and personal.
Take the Party Elsewhere
While you need to be in the venue in some capacity for the rehearsal, you don’t need to limit the festivities of the evening to one location. In fact, many couples these days are opting for rehearsal dinners that allow the group to have an enjoyable experience. This can be something very basic like going to grab drinks at a local bar or an activity that is a bit more involved, like a trip to a vineyard or a cruise around the harbor. Try to be reasonable with whatever you do, especially if the wedding is the next morning.
If you don’t have access to the venue, you may wish to just have people over to your house for a preliminary meetup. This makes it a lot easier to create a fun and easy experience for the crowd. Whether you break out a karaoke machine for some crooning from your crew or heat up the competition with some board games, a rehearsal held at home can be the kind of relaxed celebration you need to feel the excitement for your nuptials.
Make an Unforgettable Rehearsal Dinner Menu
Offering food during the rehearsal dinner is a given, as the name of the event itself implies a meal. You can make the experience a bit more exciting by creating a menu that your guests will adore. Unlike the wedding menu, which needs to appeal to a larger crowd, the food you serve during the rehearsal can be crafted to the tastes of the few people you’re feeding. Whether this means a menu of comfort foods or an international selection of dishes for a crowd of adventurous eaters, put some thought behind your final spread.
The rehearsal dinner doesn’t need to be an involved affair, but you should definitely think about how to make the most of it. Play your cards right and you’ll be able to use this event as a way of launching right into the wedding festivities.
There’s no real history for the wedding rehearsal dinner, but The Knot suggests that rehearsal dinners became a thing in the 1950s when weddings became more of a theatrical event. Everyone needed a way to come together to be on the same page for the wedding. Today, the rehearsal dinner can be a way for families to have a low-key evening together before the nuptials. The rehearsal dinner can complement the wedding and kick off the festivities. If you’re looking for a way to really make the evening a grand occasion without upstaging the main event, here are some trends in rehearsal dinners.
Pick a Theme
A theme pulls together any party, and a rehearsal dinner is no different. You don’t need to get very elaborate — just choose something that gives you a planning element, such as a favorite color or location. You’re creating an experience for your guests. Even though the rehearsal dinner is a smaller group of people, it’s usually your closest friends and family members, so this gives you an opportunity to be more personal and make the evening more interactive.
Rent a Special Venue
Because this party is smaller than your reception, you can get creative with the location. Hold the rehearsal in the afternoon to let your guests get to the venue at a reasonable hour and get home to sleep before the big day. Look around your community for interesting places: a riverside cruise, the aquarium, a winery or some local attraction. Get creative with the venue for a completely different rehearsal dinner.
Bring in Entertainment
Hire a local band or some other form of entertainment. This eases the host’s duties to make sure everyone is having a good time and lets everyone relax before the big day. Live performers can really infuse personality and fun into your dinner. It doesn’t even have to be musical. Find a flair bartender who turns the cocktail hour into a circus. Acrobats or belly dancers can be very entertaining. Maybe you could have a palm reader or tarot reader to provide personal readings for your guests.
Get Creative With the RehearsalMenu
Remember all those ideas you had for your wedding reception food that might have been too much for a large party? Use some of those ideas at the rehearsal dinner. Host a chocolate fountain or ice cream sundae bar. Have a fire pit to make s’mores after dinner. Create a large charcuterie board. Develop a couple of special cocktails just for the rehearsal dinner. Indulge in that unique entrée you both loved.
Plan Events for Plus-Ones and Out-of-Town Guests
Every rehearsal dinner has that lull at the beginning when the main party hasn’t arrived but the extras are coming in. Put that time to good use by planning activities for the start of the party. Have a photo booth. The wedding party often doesn’t get a chance to enjoy those amenities at the wedding reception. Have some group games available for guests to play while they’re waiting for the rehearsal to wrap up. Find a way for guests to engage with each other informally to ease any tensions between the dates of the bridal party and family from out of town.
Who Hosts the Rehearsal Dinner?
Traditionally, the groom’s family would host and pay for the rehearsal dinner. As weddings are more diverse, traditions are changing. The one thing you can do to make the rehearsal dinner go a little smoother is determine who is responsible for hosting and planning it. Then turn it over to the host.
Your rehearsal dinner may not be the main event, but it’s okay to make it special. Incorporate these ideas or your own to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience.
While not completely necessary, the rehearsal dinner provides a way to rehearse the wedding and introduce friends and family in a more intimate setting.
There are plenty of traditions surrounding weddings. Some of these rituals make total sense, like the act of carrying flowers or the symbolism behind exchanging rings. Still, some modern traditions can seem a bit ridiculous. The rehearsal dinner for the event, for example, can easily come across as a pointless activity meant to squeeze some additional cash out of you. There are many opinions on rehearsal dinners and whether or not they are necessary for a wedding. If you are unsure, now is a great time to explore the details and see what fits best for your needs.
The Main Idea
First, it can be helpful to take a closer look at the rehearsal dinner and why it exists. Though a fairly recent development, rehearsals have become commonplace for most couples. The idea is to bring together all of the most important players in the ceremony before the day of the actual event. During the rehearsal dinner, everyone gets on the same page and learns exactly what he or she must do in order to ensure the celebration goes off without any issues. Though somewhat straightforward, most dinners have strayed a bit from this idea.
Instead of being looked at as a rehearsal, many couples wind up using their rehearsal dinners as a chance to party. This is easily evidenced in the fact that couples have started moving their rehearsal dinners earlier in the week. Originally, the rehearsal was held the night before the actual event. Now, couples have the dinner several nights before so guests can drink and party without fear of having to wake up early the next day for the wedding.
Important Meetings
For the most part, the people present at your rehearsal dinner will be the most important people to you and your significant other. Parents, siblings, and best friends will all be in attendance, ready to listen to what will be expected of them at the ceremony. Though it stands to reason most of these people have met before, this is not always going to be the case. If your parents have never met your significant other’s parents before, this could be the opportunity you have been waiting to arrive.
Bringing together all of the important people in your life under one roof before your wedding can be good for your spirits. Simply looking around the room and seeing the smiling faces of those you have come to trust and love over the years can be warming to the soul. The dinner allows you a chance to “rehearse,” of course, but it also provides you with an easy setting where you can introduce friends and family members in a more casual setting than your actual ceremony.
Do You Need One?
Finally, you might be wondering whether you need a rehearsal dinner at all. These events can be costly, which is unappealing when you are already paying a small fortune for the wedding itself. In truth, this dinner is not necessary. For the most part, it is just another chance to eat and drink with people before the wedding. If you can’t afford a rehearsal dinner or deem it unimportant for your plans, simply provide your friends and family members with the information they need for your wedding in your own way.
Planning for your wedding can often be a great deal of work. When faced with decisions like whether you need to host a rehearsal dinner, it is best to really explore all of your options. Though rehearsal dinners might make for an easy meet-and-greet scenario before the day of your actual wedding, they are not always needed and can often be eliminated from the plans without any serious repercussions or issues.
