Rehearsal Dinner 101

Photo Credit: A Practical Wedding

The countdown is ON! You're finally getting married! While there are many details that will come into play during the final weeks before your wedding, one of the most important is planning and attending your wedding rehearsal/dinner.

So, what is a wedding rehearsal/dinner exactly?
Typically, this event is held the night before your wedding where you, your fiancé, wedding party and immediate family such as parents and grandparents get together. First, you'll likely have some sort of rehearsal whether that is on site at the ceremony location/venue or somewhere else. Note that having the rehearsal on site is ideal, however, if there is a wedding taking place the same day/time as your rehearsal, then it's best time to to come up with a plan B. This can be easily coordinated by your officiant and wedding planner/coordinator in your backyard or a restaurant, for instance. After the rehearsal, you'll likely have a location picked out for dinner. Whether this is a private or semi-private room in a restaurant or a BBQ in your parent's backyard, be sure to come hungry! 

Who is invited to the rehearsal dinner?
The rehearsal dinner guest list usually includes close family members (such as your parents and grandparents), bridesmaids, groomsmen and anyone else participating in the wedding ceremony. Spouses of anyone in the wedding party is also welcome. Sometimes, out of town guests are also invited to the rehearsal dinner. However, depending on the number of guests this can get to be a rather large number so you certainly don't have to invite them. Typically, 20-50 guests are present.

Who pays?
Traditionally, the groom's parents pay for the dinner, however, with wedding traditions constantly changing and more and more couple's opting to pay for their own wedding or each of their parent's splitting the cost, there is not really a set rule on who has to pay.

Speeches
That's right! At some point during the dinner, speeches and toasts will begin. Typically the host (usually the groom's father) will kick this off. The father of the bride, mother of the bride/groom, best man and maid of honor are also welcome to say a little something. Also, it's totally acceptable for the speeches to run a bit longer at the rehearsal. So, not need to cut Dad off if he's been on the clock for more than 20 minutes! Now, at your actual wedding, try and keep those speeches short ;)

Gifts
As the bride and groom, you likely purchased gifts for your parents and wedding party. Now is the time to get those gifts out and put them to good use! You can also give the gifts to them on your wedding day if you'd like (typically while everyone is getting ready).

There are so many more details that come into play when it comes to your wedding rehearsal/dinner! If you have any more questions or need some advice, please don't hesitate to reach out to us! We're here to help :)