Rehearsal / dinner timing

We were in the same boat as you. Our rehearsal was @ 1-130 with our dinner at 430. That gave us time to check in to our hotel, relax & freshen up before dinner. Wedding party & family lived close by so they were able to go home. Definitely not weird.

Nope, not weird at all. We did the exact same thing due to the morning time slot we were given for the rehearsal at our venue. We all showed up to the rehearsal in jeans, then people went back home or to their hotel rooms to relax and freshen up, etc. and our rehearsal/welcome dinner was that evening.

The day before? That’s fine. You could either have a late lunch afterwards or wait and have dinner later. Some couples have a rehearsal on Thursday for a Saturday wedding and it’s much easier to forget everything in that situation.


However a rehearsal dinner does not need to be fancy or expensive. Couples and their attendants wear jeans and tshirts or nice tops all the time.

In local weddings around here churches and most venues have the actual rehearsalTues or Wed morning, or after dinner, and the dinner for WP and SO and family is a weekend before, or wedding weekend. People prefer the separation to a meal time good for them and their SO, and the split does not matter.