Speeches at rehearsal dinner instead of wedding?

I actually think this is a great idea. Rehearsal dinners typically have a number of speeches anyway, so just get through all of them and you won’t have to pause anything during the wedding.

Completely agree with you! Long speeches are super boring at a wedding and take the wind out of the event. I have noticed people doing speeches at the rehearsal dinner much more frequently lately, and I love it. The weddings I’ve been to that have done this have allowed whoever wants to speak to do so at the rehearsal, then at the wedding the couple does a quick thank you, and sometimes have just 1 or 2 toasts (such as the best man and maid of honor, or father of the bride, etc.).

I completely agree and was considering doing this for our wedding as well. I'm always so bored with speeches at weddings and just want to get to dancing.

I agree! We are doing MOH/Best man speeches at the rehearsal dinner, and then allowing one person from each side of our family to do an under-1-minute toast during the dinner at the reception

I agree with this and have seen it becoming more common.

I am sorry, but that makes me laugh to think of guests needing to hear speeches to be entertained. Some speeches are entertaining, sure, but most are boring. And no one has ever complained about the LACK of speeches at a wedding.

Anyway, your plan sounds completely fine and I would just stop discussing this with your parents. Change the subject every time they bring it up. This is such a small detail and is not worth worrying about it any more.

I think it's a great idea, especially in your situation where the guest list is the same.

My thought is that we'll have parents do speeches/toasts (if they want) at the rehearsal dinner, and for the reception have our Best Man/MOH toasts. I have a Maid and a Matron so I will let them decide if they want to collab or do their own toasts.

Agree with you Paige.
Guests don't care about speeches that are not given by the couple and sometimes don't care about the couple speech(es) either since most of them are similar, you always hear the same cheesy quotes, the same jokes. Seriously: who wants to know how the MOH and the bride met? Or what the father of the bride thought when he met the groom?
My fiancé and I also dislike wedding speeches/toasts, we compromised by having an open mic at the RD,only because his 2 sisters really want to give a 'toast and roast' and he is OK with the idea of them giving one . This is the only thing we've compromised on during the planning process.

My fiancé gave a speech for his sister at the RD and a few other toasts were given , we decided to 'steal' the idea because we both loved the idea of doing an open mic at the RD, it was lovely and all speeches, all toasts were way funnier than traditional reception speeches we use to hear . And because a speech-giver is not talking in front of 100+ people, the more intimate vibe is perfect for any speech/toast giver, whether or not they are shy/introvert.

People should be giving short 2-5 minute maximum toasts, not long speeches. But they are always optional and many weddings skip them completely and they are not missed. Many people are uncomfortable with public speaking but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you. People say they hate them while saying they are a must but you never hear anyone say “we had a great time but they skipped toasts so it wasn’t as good as we remembered”. If you want toasts at the rehearsal dinner then do that but never pressure anyone into giving one. People who want to toast you will do so without prompting unless you talk to them beforehand.

I always feel like MOH/BM speeches are so hit or miss. I've been to a lot of weddings where a majority of the guests don't know the BM or MOH so you're listening to these people tell stories you couldn't care less about. I'd rather a quick speech as a thank you from the couple, and maybe a short one from parents. So I think this is a great idea.

I'll be the only one I guess to say that as a guest, I actually really enjoy hearing the speeches that people come up with. I've also never heard a bad one, so maybe that's why? They've all been really good. But they DEFINITELY aren't the only source of entertainment for guests, most guests could care less about them. So I think you are fine to do the speeches at the rehearsal dinner.