Rehearsal Dinner for Destination Wedding?

My view on DW is that given the lengths people are going to travel to the wedding, more events should be hosted than just the ceremony and reception for all of the guests who attend.

We are having a DW by necessity (we are from two different countries and live in a third!) and our view from the beginning of budgeting and planning has been that if people make the effort to come, they should not have to pay for anything (except a few rides on public transport) for the weekend. We are going to host a welcome dinner (which right now is probably going to be a slightly upscale pizza party), a Saturday lunch reception with a substantial meal as well as a lighter, more laid back Saturday dinner, and a Sunday brunch. People are welcome to come for as many of the events as they want, and we are intentionally keeping the Friday and Sunday events casual so that people can feel free to drop in and out.

A welcome party is a really nice addition, and can be really casual and not expensive.

We had a DW and invited everyone who was invited to the wedding because we felt that if they were traveling for the wedding, we should honor that with more hosted events! For our RD we had beer and wine, passed hor d'oeuvres, cheese and fruit platter, seated salad, and buffet with multiple dishes. We also provided transportation for our guests to and from the hotel and restaurant.

Our wedding was a Friday and our RD a Thursday. We had about 80 come to the wedding and 52 come to the RD. At least in my circles, people didn't mind coming early.

@LB did you also provide meals after the wedding, on Saturday/Sunday?

we decided for a DW because it was our "dream" place. But budget is tight.

We are having our reception at a cute restaurant instead of a hall, so I am not sure how can I host RD in a place where it won't make my reception look like it was not good enough for the event.

The more I think about it more I freak out.

If you have all your OOT guests -- which is everyone -- to your RD, it will be a second reception. I would stick to just members of the bridal party and family.

@Paula Yes we did a brunch the next morning and then each set of parents (mine together and Hs separate) did something with their family Saturday night while us and the other "kids" went out.

Just because that's the way I did it doesn't mean it's a rule whatsoever. Could you maybe do something more casual for your RD, like get a party room at your hotel and have a pizza party?

I'm having a DW and we are skipping the rehearsal. I think you can go either way. We didn't want our guest to feel obligated with spending time with us. Plus we have no wedding party, so that was a major factor as well.

I'm doing a destination wedding in Vegas. I am not inviting everyone to my rehearsal dinner, but I think we will do post-dinner drinks at a bar and invite everyone to meet as a sort of welcome reception.