Welcome Events on a budget

I just had a friend to get married at a small chapel. She didn't have anything following the ceremony. It's your wedding and your budget. If you want to do more, consider scaling back the number of attendees and then maybe you'll be able to have a sit down dinner. Iat know people will complain regardless to what youndo or dont do. I hope it all works out.

I would recommend potentially having the welcome event at a different location if possible. That way you don't run into guests coming early when you're still at dinner. I don't think it would be rude as most people know that there's a rehearsal dinner the night before so to feel "left out" would honestly be a little strange. That beings said, if you want to keep it at the same location and don't want them feeling left out, maybe give a half hour to hour break between dinner and drinks?

I agree with Caitlin that a different location would be better. Maybe a bar or brewery close to your rehearsal dinner restaurant?

I agree with having the welcome party at a different location. My brother-in-law had a rehearsal dinner at his wedding venue where everyone in attendance had a full meal then an hour or so later all guests were invited to meet at a local bar. Guests paid for their own food and drinks though at the bar.

Have the welcome party at a different location and then you're golden

I'd skip the welcome party altogether. The only people you need to feed after the rehearsal are those who were in the rehearsal and their so's. Is this a destination wedding?

Don’t feel bad if you aren’t able to splurge on welcoming your guests. Is this a Thursday or Friday rehearsal dinner? Guests will be fine just meeting you after you’ve gone through your rehearsal and dinner with the wedding party + family/friends who were involved in the ceremony rehearsal. I know if I were coming from out of town, I’d appreciate not having to get ready immediately after being in a car or from the airport. Some people need time to settle in, get their affairs in order after traveling/work, etc.


And I agree w/ what others have said that it might be more beneficial all-around if you welcomed guests at a nearby 2nd location that isn’t where the rehearsal dinner took place. Having to fix up the rehearsal location where some people had dinner, but other guests didn’t may be an awkward transition.
Better to leave it up to guests to figure out what they’d like to eat for dinner, and not trouble yourself to fuss over it beyond the actual wedding night either! If they care for you enough, they’ll understand. Maybe drinks and late night food at a brewery/pub or late night casual restaurant near their hotels!

You can put on the wedding website that the welcome party is unhosted. Then people understand right from the start that you aren’t paying for them. Most people I think understand not being invited to rehearsal dinner.

Unless you have a coordinator who runs a very tight ship at keeping everything on track to the second, you will have a big challenge keeping the groups separate. Because time flies when you are having fun as they say, you will need someone to stop one dinner from overlapping into the next.


Welcome dinners in general are a new optional trend, and not every circle has them due to logistics and budget. However a rehearsal dinner is a minimum requirement for a rehearsal. If you must have the welcome party, an alternative may be to be combine them into one big welcome party. That way, you are still hosting the rehearsal participants and having the laid back budget party for everyone else at the same time. But those who are participating in the rehearsal must have food and beverages covered on your dime. Etiquette says that because you are hosting everyone, it is your responsibility to cover all food and drink expenses. If you are unable or unwilling to cover the expenses, do not include any information about a welcome party in any correspondence to guests. Once you announce you are having an event, you are fully responsible as hosts to cover all expenses of the guests who show up. In our circles and among other people we know, if someone is not participating in the ceremony or a significant other of a bridesmaid/groomsman at the rehearsal dinner, they expect to not be invited to any pre wedding parties the night before.
If you are looking for budget food choices you can afford, have pizza delivery as an example, or sandwich platters from Costco.