The Wedding Rehearsal Dinner & Preparing your Wedding Rehearsal Invitations

Wedding rehearsal dinners are such a constant feature of romantic comedies, usually a chance for all the characters to gather before the wedding and a setting for final bombshells and declarations to emerge. In real life, they are usually held for the very opposite reason of all that unexpected drama. 

Wedding rehearsal dinners have been a tradition for many decades, but many newly engaged couples still don't know what this important event is about, how to set it up, or when it should be scheduled. Luckily for you, you'll find all there is to know about wedding rehearsal dinners.

What is a wedding rehearsal dinner?

If you're already planning your wedding, you probably already know what the wedding rehearsal etiquette is. For those who don't know, a wedding rehearsal is running through all that's supposed to happen during your ceremony, almost like a drill before the actual ceremony.

On the other hand, a wedding rehearsal dinner will be the last chance to have an intimate and private get-together with those closest to you before your wedding. These kinds of celebrations are an amazing way to stay close to those who are important to your wedding day, and that has been close to you during this journey.

Normally, the people who’d attend a wedding rehearsal would be the wedding couple, bridesmaids, groomsmen, child attendants like the flower girl and the ring bearer, and close family, such as parents, siblings, and grandparents of the couple - so when preparing your wedding rehearsal invitations be sure to invite all these people. In general terms, anyone who participates in your ceremony should be there. 

How do you have a wedding rehearsal dinner?

First, it's important to know who to invite to this dinner. Just as its name may indicate, this is a celebration for those present during your wedding ceremony rehearsal, perfect for relieving stress and preparing for the real wedding day. And speaking of the wedding day, it's important to note that this dinner will usually take place the night before your wedding day, right after your rehearsal.

The rulebook is simple to follow in terms of wedding rehearsal dinner etiquette, especially since this celebration can go very formal or laid back. It truly depends on your guests and the kind of dinner you want. One thing to keep in mind is that this dinner should not take the spotlight away from the wedding party, so you should try not to go beyond the scope of your actual wedding.

Who pays for wedding rehearsal dinner? 

Regarding whom pays for this dinner, tradition dictates that the groom's family should pay for this celebration's expenses. On the other hand, we also recognize that couples may work things out away from tradition, or some don't have a way to rely on family.

For these reasons, some couples opt to pay for the dinner as a couple or have the bride's family cover the cost. And if you're on a tight budget, you can always look for pocket-friendly alternatives, but always keep in mind that your guests should not pay for any of it since they can't choose to attend this dinner, mainly because they're a part of the wedding rehearsal.

Wedding rehearsal speeches

Another big tradition in wedding rehearsals and their respective dinners is to have some people give speeches regarding the wedding and the couple. The main person who’d traditionally share some words would be the groom’s father, who is supposed to be hosting the wedding rehearsal dinner. But in reality, many couples decide that different people give out speeches during dinner.

You can have both the groom’s and the bride’s parents share some words and then have the maid of honour and the best man give a toast and finally give some time to those who aren’t going to give a speech during the wedding ceremony or party so they can also share their thoughts and emotions with your guests.

The main topics the couple’s parents should cover during these speeches are being grateful to those who attended your wedding rehearsal, talking about the journey of planning this wedding and how this couldn’t have been possible without them. Finally, for the rest of the speeches, they should freely express their thoughts, feelings and experiences about the couple, making for a great bonding moment before the big day.

Wedding rehearsal dinner invitations

Wedding invitations are a huge part of planning a wedding, and sometimes it cannot be very clear to figure out when to send them and for what motives. The truth is that invitations are a courtesy and a necessary one, for that matter, since they take into consideration your guests' time and are mindful of it. Often not all the wedding guests are invited to the rehearsal dinner, and it becomes necessary to post separate wedding rehearsal invitations to those you want to include in this event. 

For that reason, it's important to send out rehearsal dinner invitations at least a week before the wedding weekend, and it's advisable to also send out an itinerary for those involved in the rehearsal so they can look at all the activities and duties for the weekend and have everyone on the same page. This may be important if members of your bridal party are interstate or international and require the extra time to go through the proceedings of the wedding day. When it comes to the wedding rehearsal dinner themselves, there are a few ways to only notify the relevant guests.

Here at Paperlust, you can find many wedding rehearsal dinner invitations in different designs and themes. Regardless of the season and formality, you are planning your wedding, and we always have the perfect design for your upcoming event. You can also personalize them and use the editing tools we provide to you and the address manager to customize each envelope with your guest's address.

The rehearsal dinner can be indicated by an additional paragraph that you only print on some invitations. Or you can take this as an opportunity to play with the design of the main invitation and interpret it slightly differently for the rehearsal dinner invitation. As it contains less information, the wedding rehearsal invitation could also be the exact design as the main invitation but printed in a smaller size. This additional card can just be added in the envelopes of those you need to invite. Having that wedding rehearsal dinner can not only iron out any of the procedural kinks of the big day, but also provide a chance for a more intimate celebration with those close wedding guests which may not be possible at the reception. 

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