Rehearsal Dinner... yes or no?

If you have a rehearsal, you have to feed the people who attended as well as their SO. It can be something simple like ordering pizza and beer at home.

If you can't afford to feed them a meal after a rehearsal, don't have a rehearsal.

View Quoted Comment That doesn't make much sense. No one will have a clue where to stand or when to walk.

View Quoted Comment Have them arrive early the day of so you can explain all that and do a quick walkthrough.

My friend did hers at the local pizza place, it was laid back and fun. I would do it there too but my wedding party has a lot of dietary restrictions

I understand what you mean. I don’t think “if you’re not feeding them then don’t have a rehearsal” is what you should base your decisions off of.

You know your family and friends, if they’d show up for you regardless of food then have your rehearsal. You won’t be taking up that much of their time. And if you feel obligated pizza is a fine option.

I’ve been to rehearsals with and without food and it was never a big deal. They just didn’t call it a rehearsal dinner 🤷🏽‍♀️

View Quoted Comment That's kind of what I'm thinking. Have a rehearsal and then maybe meet somewhere for drinks on you own tab.

I think we plan on a pizza joint after the rehearsal

View Quoted Comment Do you know what order you want them to go in? Then the line up when they are at the end.if we did nothing t have a flower girl or ring bearer i would not have a rehearsal.

We aren’t having a rehearsal because our venue isn’t able to. The Wednesday before though, they are going to sit us down and do a very detailed walk through so we know exactly what’s going on. If we are still confused, we can probably just gather the wedding party and find some flat land to practice.

As for the rehearsal dinner, we are probablt gonna do some backyard bbq thing. Nothin too expensive and we love bbqs

We’re thinking of doing a brunch. That way we still can have all the family and friends from out of town celebrate privately with us but save on cash too! We plan on cooking the food since is breakfast food and it’ll be a fun thing for everyone to de-stress before the wedding! And then hopefully no one has a hangover the next morning 😂

We’re skipping this as unnecessary and unwanted

i feel like its just asking for more gifts but thats my personal view

im going to have a meeting day of just to let everyone know rundown or ceremony and who to follow lol

Can you maybe invite everyone back to your house for dinner? Not sure how big your wedding party is, but that is another option that might be a bit cheaper if you can do it. We are having a rehearsal, but since we too are paying for our own wedding haven't figured out the dinner piece just yet. We do not have a wedding party, but will invite out those who have traveled in to attend our wedding as a thank you.

View Quoted Comment It’s rude to ask people to rehearse and then not host them for a meal afterwards. It can be a bbq in your own backyard but you would still need to host them and not have people pay.

A rehearsal dinner does not have to be fancy or expensive at all. Host it in the fellowship hall if you are getting married in a church. You could also host it at someone's house or backyard. Don't spend menu on a venue for this. The idea is to simply spend time together and thank them for being in the wedding party.

I don't know the size of your wedding party. However, You can definitely feed 15-20 people for under $100 or $150 the very most if you/family provide the meal yourself.

Here are some simple options:
Spaghetti, sauce, garlic bread, salad

Build your own burritos/tacos/bowls with lettuce, cheese, salsa, beans, taco meat, sour cream

Baked or grilled chicken, 1 or 2 vegetables, potatoes or rice

Couple cases of soda and water

Couple of $5.99 cakes from Walmart

I've provided meals for my whole congregation at church (+/- 40 people) a few times and never went over $150.

We paid for our own rehearsal and was actually able to do it fairly cheap. Only the people in the wedding party need to be at the rehearsal (plus the officiant and a coordinator if you have one). Then typically you also invite your parents and their mom to the rehearsal dinner. We invited a few more family members but I guess technically you don't have to. We did a rehearsal lunch by renting out a picnic shelter at a park for 20$ and then had sandwiches catered. We did DIY sangrias and a bundt cake and that was it! It was our chance to specifically thank our bridesmaids and family for supporting us all through the crazy whirlwind of wedding planning.

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^ I've never known people to give gifts to the couple at the rehearsal dinner? A rehearsal dinner is you giving thanks to everybody else for supporting you and being your main people. We gave gifts to our wedding party and family members as thank you's, nobody brought gifts for us because it isn't expected. It's not the same as a shower. But also yes, it's not that hard to walk down an aisle so the rehearsal isn't mandatory in the slightest, haha.

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The couple does not receive gifts at a RD. Usually, the bride and groom give their wedding party their gifts at the RD. We're having our RD at an Italian restaurant after the rehearsal. Nothing too big.

Thank you everyone for all your input! It has definitely been helpful!

If you're asking people to give up their own time and come to your rehearsal, you thank them by feeding them afterwards. It's just good manners. We had pizza and drinks, it was very inexpensive. If you can't afford anything, just have a run through with your FS so you can fill everyone else in or do a quick rehearsal before the ceremony when they're already there. People will figure it out fine though, one of our party couldn't make it, but we just told them where to stand and the celebrant cued them in for their reading. It all ran smoothly.

You don't need a rehearsal. The officiant can tell people where to stand and when to walk just before the ceremony.

However, if you have a rehearsal, you really need to feed the people in it. That can be as simple as take-out pizza--it doesn't need to be a big formal meal.