Out of town guest

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The rehearsal dinner? I don't think the guest list depends on whether someone lives local. At a minimum, it's the people in the wedding party, parents of the couple, and others with special wedding roles - those who would be at the rehearsal. Many folks include siblings, people they're especially close to, "practically family" old friends...

If you don't get to see someone often, and you want a chance to spend more time with them, a small party like a rehearsal dinner is a great chance to do that. My partner invited one close friend, and I invited two of my childhood friends who live far away - partly for my own preferences, and also I liked knowing that they'd get to connect with my parents again. And this is probably the only time I can introduce my partner's family to my closest friends and vice versa. (Theoretically I could at the wedding reception, but there will be so many people and so much happening.)

Of course it's different if you're having a huge guest list. I have seen some wedding-sized rehearsal dinners!

So, what kind of dinner do you want? That has to guide your decision of who to invite.

We had a Welcome party for our out of town guests - mainly because our wedding was more of a destination wedding for them. <G> I am so so glad I did this, as I got to spend quality time with all those special people that took the time and incurred great expenses to come celebrate our day. It was a simple buffet, with each guest getting 2 alcoholic drink tickets. The rest - soda and such - was complimentary and no limits. We held it at a theater cabaret, so great ambiance! I think this made the best time for everyone, especially since there were so many that didn't know each other. The last picture in this post tells it all - no one knew each other, but by the end of the night they were having a blast ..... and since they were sitting with each other at the wedding, well, comfortable and fun. (they didn't know that at the time)

They can be but don't have to be. It's up to you and can obviously depend on your budget. It's a common thing in my area, but it's quite often one of the families hosting, not the couple.

I'm not sure what you mean by a groom's dinner. I've never heard of such a thing. If you are referring to the rehearsal dinner, then that's completely up to you. We didn't invite out of town guests to our rehearsal dinner.

Out of town guests are sometimes invited to the rehearsal dinner, but it’s not mandatory. I invited them to mine, but there were only two out-of-town couples. One was in the wedding party and one was staying with my parents, who were coming. So it just made sense to. I’d look at numbers and logistics, and also consider things like whether it’s a completely new place for them so they’d be all alone or if they know other people in the area. There’s no one answer.

I like the points shared in the previous post. If someone has traveled alone to stay overnight for the wedding, it is good to include that person as a courtesy. Somewhat similar, Pat's idea was neat, even if just some opportunity for guests to meet each other the day before.

It really depends. If you have allot of out of guests than the rehearsal dinner could easily become almost as large as the wedding reception. Out of town guest s are optional if you can afford it and have the space it s a nice thing to do but shouldn't be expected. The wedding party and their partners definitely need to be invited. Happy planning❤️