Rehersal Dinners

[JennRN]

I loved my RD! We did it at an Italian restaurant in Dallas-my husband's parent's paid for the whole thing. My entire family was there, as was his-even the out of town people! Also, we invited some of my husband's fraternity brothers who weren't in the wedding. There were probably 50-60 people there? I didn't know it was going to be that big-I sort of zoned out on that part of the planning. His mom did surprise me with some gorgoues flower arrangments there-we had a set menu and it was so nice!!

[SthrnZeta]

Originally Posted by WhiteDaisy128

I actually do know someone that did that...they looked stunning too! Here is my friend Melissa in her mom's gown (she had it cut to the knees) for her rehearsal.



I cut my mom's dress up to make a ring bearers pillow, so I couldn't do that.

My rehearsal dinner was wedding party (their dates), and family (my dad and uncle, his mom, dad, his dad's fiance, her three adult children and their dates). In all it was about 30 people. We had it at a nice restaurant. His dad paid for everything (including alcohol). There was a special menu where we could pick from 5 dinner choices, etc. It was really nice. We had our own room.

That dress is actually really cute - I'd buy that

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

One of the most fun rehearsal dinners I ever went to was the most casual. It was my brother's, back in the 80s.

Our uncle was a chef most of his life and his gift to the couple was to prepare all of the food for the rehearsal dinner. The problem was that he had just retired and sold his restaurant.

We actually had the dinner at his house, on the back porch. The food, was fabulous and the alcohol was minimal: Wine, Beer and Champagne. Everyone wore shorts and golf shirts.

I think, because of the casual setting, everyone got to meet a lot more people than they would have at a sit-down dinner. It was like a big party (about 80 people).

I wish my FIL's lived closer to where we're having the wedding because their backyard/deck would be perfect for something like that and I really like the casualness of it - sounds like so much fun! Can anyone think of a way we can do that if it's a sort of destination wedding?

[Glitter650]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

We've got wayyyy too many people from out of state to invite them all, it'd be a second wedding.

All I know is that I want the rehearsal to be CASUAL and FUN. I don't give a damn if it's classy, we'll be spending all Saturday being classy and formal. Let the night before be fun and relaxed.

HERE HERE !!!!!! His parents really wanted to "invite the out of towners" but if we did it'd be 85% of the guest list ?! Plus it just gets crazy at that point if you invite Jimmy and Susan from out of town , who are staying with Mary and Joe who live in town... and Mary and Joe aren't invited ?! ETTIQUETTE HELL I TELL YOU just confuses the issue !!!

I just DON"T WANT a MINI reception ! it's not necessary.

We are having it at a mid-tier restaurant, buffet style about 5 minutes from our venue... with just bridal party, and their Signif. others if they have them, and parents of ring bearer and flower girl.

[Army Wife'79]

Exactly! Where do I draw the line? If I invite all the OOT'ers, then it's everyone coming to the actual reception. and then will the FIL's think I'm "stealing" their thunder with a second reception? Destination weddings have their own little sets of problems don't they?

[bejazd]

SthrnZeta that is a totally adorable picture of your friend. Ok, now I've changed my mind about the wearing your mom's dress at the rehearsal. I guess if you are in your mid-20's now your parents probably married in the early 70s...I was thinking of my mother's cathedral style ball gown from the early 60s (my mom would have killed me if I wanted to cut that up!)vs. the Betsey Johnson styles or even the Gunne Sax styles. I could even picture a suit worn at a civil service possibly working. hey, whatever the bride wants. It's her deal and she gets the last word on what she wears!

ArmyWife, we went to an out of town wedding last year, and I was actually happy we were not asked to go to the RD. It was a long weekend vacation for us (sin children) so it was nice to have a little extra time for sight seeing.

[SthrnZeta]

bejazd, that's actually not my friend, I quoted someone else

And I know it's "proper" to invite OOTs but that would mean having a mini-reception and I don't want that. So, this is technically a destination wedding, it's gonna be just the wedding party and SOs BUT I will reserve a block of rooms and have small gift baskets for everyone in their hotel rooms with a list of local restaurants, etc. I think that's fair.

[bejazd]

My bad. White Daisy gets the credit! in any case, she's darling.

I need another vacation without children! They've sucked out my brain, and I need recharging so I can focus!

[Scully]

I have to say, I was more stressed out for the RD than the actual wedding day! We had our dinner the night before our wedding at a local Italian restaurant which had a separate party room. Nothing too large or too fancy! Just a shortened menu and we invited immediate family and the bridal party (sans dates) and all of our OOT relatives and friends who were staying in a nearby hotel, where we had blocked out rooms. About 25 people in total. The food was amazing! And the drinks were fabulous. I think everyone had a good time and our bridal party definitely bonded! There, we handed out gifts. It made everyone more relaxed for the next day. My FMIL (at the time) picked up the tab. Although the dinner ran a bit late (we were all tired) I think it went rather well. Many good memories!

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by Army Wife'79

I have been to RD's where the bartender at the private banquet room had: beer, wine and champagne but if someone wanted a mixed drink, they had to go out to the main bar and buy it. I don't think that's tacky.

This is what we did- beer, wine, and champagne was in the private room, and you could go upstairs to the main bar to buy a mixed drink if you wanted (but I don't think anyone did). We just had family and wedding party at the rehersal dinner, since most of our out-of-town guests that weren't in the wedding didn't arrive until the day of our wedding. That still numbered about 40 people since we are both from large families. We did have a brunch on Sunday for all the out-of-town guests, though.

I can't remember everything that was served, but I do remember that we had crab legs. yum.