What Happens at a Rehearsal Dinner?
Lots of terms get thrown around during the wedding planning process, but if you are a young bride, you may not have any first hand experience with many of them. People often wonder what the purpose is behind a rehearsal dinner, how to plan one, and what really goes on there. This is an overview of the whole rehearsal dinner process.
First the reason behind the rehearsal dinner: it is a small dinner party that gives the bride’s and groom’s families a chance to get to know one another in an informal setting before the wedding itself. With that purpose in mind, you should definitely plan to invite parents, siblings, and grandparents from both sides. The wedding party is also always on the guest list, and some brides will choose that opportunity to present her attendants with their bridesmaid and flower girl gifts. Frequently, the more extended members of the couple’s families will also be included in the wedding eve party, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins. These days, it is not uncommon to also invite out-of-town guests, with the result that there are almost as many guests at the rehearsal dinner as the wedding reception.
One of the main events of a rehearsal dinner is the speeches. As the party is most often hosted by the groom’s family, it is traditional for the groom’s father to give some sort of toast. It does not need to be anything long, it is mostly a chance to welcome everyone, and to thank the out-of-town guests for making the trip. The groom’s father will conclude his toast by saying a few kind words about the bride and groom and toasting to their future happiness.
Beyond that, the wedding eve dinner is essentially a party like any other. Guests eat, drink, and mingle. They often end early so that everyone will be well rested for the wedding the next day. This has led to a custom where the younger guests often have an after-party at a nightclub, bar, or home after dinner. Just so long as everyone is rested and raring to go the next day, this can be a fun way for the younger guests to get to know one another, which is after all, one of the purposes of a rehearsal dinner.
Filed under Uncategorized, Wedding Jewelry | Tags: flower girl gifts, rehearsal dinners | Comment (0)Rehearsal Dinner Etiquette
It is customary to hold a rehearsal dinner on the evening before a wedding. This event can be as formal or casual as you like, but either way, there are still some basic rules of etiquette that should be observed. Here is what you need to know about rehearsal dinner etiquette.
One of the biggest questions about any part of the wedding is who should be paying for it. Traditionally, the rehearsal dinner is planned and paid for by the groom’s family. This was done to help alleviate some of the financial burden from the bride’s father, who traditionally shouldered the entire burden of the other wedding expenses. These days, the groom’s family is more likely to pitch in with some of the other wedding costs, as are the bride and groom themselves. If the parents of the groom is helping to pay for the rest of the wedding, it is not technically necessary for them to cover all of the costs for the rehearsal dinner, although in most cases, they still will.
The next question is who should be invited to a rehearsal dinner. Etiquette used to be that the guest list for the rehearsal dinner was a small one: the bride and groom, their parents and other immediate family like siblings, and the wedding party. The age old question is whether it is necessary to invite the spouses or significant others of the bridal party, and the answer is yet. A rehearsal dinner is a social event, after all, and it is never appropriate to invite only one half of a married couple to a dinner party.
Something else that couples wonder is if they should be presenting their bridesmaid jewelry gifts and groomsmen gifts at the rehearsal dinner. The answer to this is no. The only thing that goes on at a rehearsal dinner (other than dinner, that is) is a couple of toasts, often from the parents of the bride and groom. Bridesmaid gifts like jewelry are best presented at a bridesmaids’ luncheon which takes place about two days before the wedding.
Planning a rehearsal dinner need not be a very time consuming or stressful thing. It should really be no more than a nice dinner to give the close family and friends of the bride and groom a chance to do a “meet and greet”. Now that you know the rehearsal dinner etiquette, the rest should be easy.
Filed under Bridesmaid Gifts, Bridesmaid Jewelry, Uncategorized | Tags: bridesmaid jewelry gifts, rehearsal dinners, wedding etiquette | Comment (0)Rehearsal Dinner FAQs
When Is It Held? Usually the rehearsal dinner is held shortly after the wedding rehearsal on the day before the wedding itself. Sometimes one event flows directly into the other, although there may also be a lapse of a couple of hours in between. The time of day is important, as well. Ideally, you want to have your rehearsal dinner end fairly early, so that the bride and groom can get plenty of rest for their big day.
Who Should Be Invited? The key players in the rehearsal dinner are the bride and groom, their wedding party, the parents of the bride and groom (in any form or number!), and the officiant and his or her spouse. It is often common to add extended family and out-of-town guests to the list of invitees, as well.
Who Pays For It? The traditional answer was the parents of the groom, and this is still often the case. However, in many families, the old rules about who pays for what at a wedding are no longer strictly observed (which is usually a relief for the bride’s parents, who had to foot the bill for most of the wedding costs).
How Formal Should It Be? The formality of the rehearsal dinner in no way needs to match the level of formality of the wedding. You could be having a very grand black tie wedding with all of your guests in tuxedos, gowns, and their best wedding jewelry. That does not mean that your rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding can’t be a clam bake on the beach. In fact, a more relaxed atmosphere can be ideal for letting both sides of the family get to know one another better before the wedding.
