Wedding Rehearsal Dinner -- A Pre-Wedding Party

After you've perfected walking up and down the aisle and exchanging rings, it's time to relax and have some fun at the rehearsal dinner! Traditionally, the wedding rehearsal dinner follows the rehearsal of the wedding ceremony and is hosted and paid for by the groom's parents.

Who To Invite To The Rehearsal Dinner?

Guests include the wedding party, the bride and groom's parents and close relatives. Inviting out of town wedding guests to the rehearsal dinner will give the bride and groom an extra opportunity to welcome and spend time with them. The rehearsal dinner is a great time for all the invitees to get to know each other before the wedding reception.

Formal or Informal Rehearsal Party?

The rehearsal dinner can be as formal or casual as you want to make it. It can be held in a formal catering hall, a local restaurant or informally in the backyard. The important thing is to choose a setting where all your guests will be able to mingle comfortably. Backyard barbeques and pot luck dinners are inexpensive ways to have a rehearsal party at home.

Recognize And Thank The Bridal Party

The bride and groom often use the rehearsal dinner to present thank you gifts to the bridal party bridesmaids and groomsmen. A short thank you speech from the couple shows recognition of the effort and expense the bridal party has put into your special day. It is also a good time for those in the bridal party who don't know each other to get acquainted before the wedding day.

Toast Of The Town

Ask the rehearsal dinner invitees if anyone would like to say a few words in honor of the bride and groom. The parents of the couple are obvious choices to make a toast or give a speech at the rehearsal dinner, but it's also a chance for those who will not be heard on the wedding day to say something.

If the rehearsal party is the night before the wedding, be sure not to drink too much, and get to bed at a reasonable time. You don't want anything to interfere with everyone's enjoyment of the actual wedding day!

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