Inexpensive Rehearsal Dinner Ideas

We are having our rehearsal lunch at the pizzeria where FH and his best man work. Delicious and inexpensive.

I'd suggest something like that.

I know that this sounds completely gauche, but we're having ours at Hooters. It's where we ended up on our first date (I had a craving for hot wings). And since our bridal party is small (MOH, BM, his kids and his mom) it's nothing for us to get a table for 10. Probably not the best food to eat 2 days before the wedding, but we couldn't think of something better.

We are going to have ours at my parent's house, I think. We're going to get it catered by one of our favorite Greek restaurants

@ Jennifer - there ain't nothing wrong with Hooters, especially when it comes to their fried pickles lol

We were able to get one of the hotel banquet rooms for free since we are blocking off lots rooms for the wedding all we have to cover is a clean up fee . We are going to swing by a local Italian restaurant and pick up 3 different types of pasta, 2 types of salad and fresh breadsticks. We will go buy the beer/wine/soda and desserts seperately. Total, we are looking at $300 tops for about 20 people.

We are having the rehersal dinner at the church hall. People coming from all different directions and it is in the middle of nowhere. So it will be pizza, soda/water and a big salad set up like a salad bar where you can add your own stuff. We are inviting oot guests too.

I have heard that many restarants dont charge for room rentals- just for the food you get. Also, some places if you say you have a party of 20 have a larger space they use for that anyway so you can avoid rental fees. Costco type stores have great deli spreads which you can get for relatively cheap too if you can find a cheap space.

We are deciding between a restaurant or just having a cookout at my parent's house after we practice at the church. So far we have been leaning towards the cookout because it seems more cost efficient and because my grandma doesn't get around very well and she lives with my parents so if she got tired she could always go lay down instead of having to wait for my parents to take her home. The only downside is that my parents are divorced and my dad is remarried, so it could be awkward having my mom at my dad's house, but maybe they can deal with it for just a few hours.

I am also getting married in February. We are going to see how the weather is and hopefully have it in the front yard at my brothers and sister in laws house. If not we are going to go to a pizzeria or something inexpensive because we are also paying for the rehearsal dinner.

Last year my friend had hers in Hooters. It was my first time there, same with the boyfriend! But I didn't find it tacky. It's like ten minutes from her apartment so she and her friends were there all the time, and the food was delicious! Much better than if we had gone to some stuffy restaurant. Perhaps once you figure out how many people you plan to have at the dinner you could call around to local restaurants and ask if any of them will give a small discount or throw in dessert or something for a big group? Or you could do what some of the other brides are doing and have a big party at your house or a relative's house! That's probably a lot more intimate and if you're careful about sales you could keep the cost really low.

I have had some brides have their's catered from places like a local BBQ place, Chic-fil-a, and an Italian place. Some of them used a space at the church and another used an extra room at the restaurant. As the PP suggested, if the weather cooperates you could have a picnic at your backyard or a local park.

If you keep it informal, it can be really inexpensive. Last wedding I went to did it at a pizza buffet spot.

The Wedding Hotel has a side room that we get the day of the wedding for private dining for free. We asked if we could have it the night before since we do not need it for a 6:30pm Friday wedding. We are having the rehearsal dinner in that room and having it catered by a local restaurant we love.

One of my clients rented an upscale pool hall and brought in pizzas and beer and appetizers. It was really, really fun!

I recently attended the wedding rehearsal dinner of my niece that was so wonderful. They had put up a big-screen tv and played a musical show made with pictures of the couple's dating days. It was perfectly synchronized to music and because it was professionally made, the results were awesomely romantic and touching! They got the show custom-made for them by SmilingSnaps and I had never seen anything like that before.