Rehearsal with no dinner?

I wanted to do this too and asked on here and got some negative comments. People are going to say if you have a rehearsal you need to feed your guests and that you need to pay for it.

I still haven't decided what to do..

Pretty much everyone on here will say that you need to pay for food for everyone included in the rehearsal. I've only been in one wedding where we had a rehearsal and no dinner so I don't know any different. We're just going to be doing simple pizza so it won't be too much money.

I’m of the camp that if you’re asking people to spend time rehearsing with you, you should provide them a meal. Honestly, you could just get a couple of pizzas and call it a day! Just something.

Or, you don’t have to have a rehearsal (and therefore, no RD) at all. Most people are very capable of walking down an aisle and standing where they’re told!

Agree with above comments. You should feed them, but it doesn't have to be anything fance. We are also ordering a bunch of pizzas and some salad from a local pizza shop. Very affordable.

If it isn't in budget, skip the rehearsal and dinner. A rehearsal is optional, but if you choose to have a rehearsal, you need to feed people. It is rude to require someone to be somewhere and then make them pay for their own dinner, too. If you want a rehearsal, just take everyone out for pizza and beer. A rehearsal dinner doesn't need to be fancy.

People will tell you that a rehearsal is unnecessary, but ours was a disaster (wedding coordinator was terrible) and I'm so glad we had one.

Yes, this is tacky. If you don’t want to host a meal afterward, don’t have a rehearsal. The meal doesn’t have to be something elaborate, you could order pizza for pretty cheap.

It depends on what works for you. For my brothers wedding we had everyone that could show up to the rehearsal come to my dads house afterwards and everyone pitched in for pizza. Personally we are paying for it (well my FMIL is), but that's only because she is capable of it, and she offered, otherwise we wouldn't have had any dinner. It depends on what works for you and your wedding party and your parents.

View Quoted Comment Now that I see the comments...I see the sentiment you shared. I was just wondering what the popular opinion was because I’ve been in 3 weddings and none of them had a dinner after the rehearsal, I didn’t know this was a thing until I was recently asked. Ultimately I’m going to do what works for our budget, I was just wondering how it would be perceived. Since we are paying completely out of pocket without assistance, and my family is so eager to have a wedding - I doubt I’ll get the judgmental responses (they may think it thought 🤷🏽‍♀️)

View Quoted Comment Well I personally think pizza is tacky and would’ve never considered it before reading the responses. But thanks for your feedback

View Quoted Comment I like this idea of a community gathering at a home, that allows for more dinner options and can be more affordable. Thanks for your feedback

View Quoted Comment Providing any meal for your guests, yes even pizza, is far less tacky than asking them to reserve an additional evening out of their schedules for your wedding and then asking them to pay for their own meal.

Yes it’s tacky/ no , it’s not okay. You DONT need a rehearsal!
BUT, if you DO a rehearsal you’re asking people to take time out of your day for you, and it is absolutely necessary to feed them as a thank you.
You DONT need a big, formal to-do. It can be as simple as pizzas and beer at someone’s house. But if you do a rehearsal, you need to provide your rehearsees with at least something.

I think the rehearsal goes with the dinner. If you’re skipping the dinner then you should be skipping the rehearsal. I’ve been to rehearsal dinners at restaurants and ones with home cooked meals. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive.

Yes, having people come to a rehearsal and not having a dinner is tacky and rude to the people that are being forced to go to the rehearsal. I'd do the rehearsal at 1 or 2, then have appetizers at 3 or 4, so you don't have to pay for a full meal. Or I'd skip the rehearsal all together.

A rehearsal isn't optional for me because of all the moving pieces and the location and making sure it goes smoothly. My rehearsal will be earlier in the day, and all of the people that will be a part will be in town for my wedding anyway and have already stated that they're dedicating the weekend to me - so I don't feel as though I'll be imposing. Thanks for all the feedback and opinions. As I stated earlier, I've been in 3 weddings with rehearsals with no dinners, so clearly this is done and I never thought any differently about it. I guess, depending on the person will determine how it will be perceived.

Do whatever you feel is best for you & your budget. Most people attending ur rehearsal dinner are part of the wedding & understand the cost. No one will want you to go into debt feeding them.

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Thank you! I appreciate your feedback, I will try to find some middle ground on this to make everyone happy.

It does not have to be fancy! I’ve been to one where they ordered in chick-fil-a for everyone to eat at the church after the rehearsal. I’ve also been to quite a few where people grilled out in one of the parents backyards. It doesn’t need to be expensive.

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I agree. Not feeding them is what's tacky and also asking them to pay for their own food is very tacky. Save up $75 and pay for pizza and juice or $150 and olive garden can cater and feed about 15-20 ppl