What goes on during rehearsal dinner?

I have only been to one, for a backyard wedding, so what happened was that we ate. We socialized. We rehearsed. We left. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

If your venue provides the space and catering for your rehearsal, you can have it there. Or you can find a nice restaurant within your budget to go.

You should invite anyone who will be participating in your ceremony and their significant others.

I'm assuming the couple pays for the dinner as well?

The one i went to had the wedding party and parents of bride and groom. We rehearsed and then went out for pizza and beer and just talked and enjoyed ourselves

I've been to two.

One was a backyard bbq. We ate, drank, and did a quick run through of the ceremony.

The other was at a restaurant. A few weeks before the bride asked us to pick our meals (choice of 3) so I guess she did a fixed menu type thing.

Like Zelda said, it should be you and the groom, the bridal party and their dates, and immediate family.

As for payment, I believe "traditionally" it's paid for by the grooms parents, but that's up to you and them. If they don't offer, it's on you two.

Our rehearsal at the chapel is from 5:30-6:30 the night before our wedding. Our officiant and pianist will be in attendance, so we are asking that our entire wedding party is as well. To thank them for traveling a day early to attend, my FMIL in hosting a rehearsal dinner at a fairly formal restaurant immediately following. We've reserved a private room. The bridal party, their dates, our parents, and our grandparents will be in attendance. We'll have dinner and drinks, thank everyone for coming, and that's really it. We're planning on ending at 9 PM.

Edit: As for cost, we're planning on 38 people at $26.95 pp for food (house salad, choice of three cheese ravioli, rigatoni con pollo e peperone Rossi, prime rib, or salmon, and a chocolate mousse dessert). On top of that, we're offering beer and wine, so it'll likely be $50 pp.

Yes the couple pays or sometimes the grooms parents will pay. Typically there are some toasts done by the bride and groom to their BP and parents sometimes toast to the couple, bridal party receives their gifts, and everyone eats and drinks.

Yup. The rehearsal dinner is a thank you to your wedding party. It kind of defeats the purpose if they foot their own bills.

You pay. You rehearse, if you feel you need to, give gifts to your BP an relax. Toasts. That's it.

Our venue doesn't have a restaurant so what we are doing is going to the rehearsal at the venue (practice how everyone will walk/stand/etc.) then we are going to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We are inviting our Bridal Party (and their dates) our officiant (+date) and our parents. We also have a few OOT guests who we are going to invite as well.

Yes you should pay for it, do not ask your guests to pay for their own dinner.

We plan on having a rehearsal/welcome dinner for out of town guests to cut the cost.

What exactly do you rehearse though? The line up for the next day?

Yes. Who stands where, what order people walk in, etc.

Stupid question but what is the average cost of rehearsal dinner?

It really depends on what type of dinner you have, and how many guests you have.

I guess Ill start looking up places now!

thank you!

I guess Ill start looking up places now!

thank you!

It can be held at a restaurant or you can have it at your own place and order in pizzas or grill up some burgers. We plan to have qdoba cater our rehearsal dinner which will be $10/person not including drinks or the delivery and set up fee.

Thats a good idea!

So.. I've been to two rehearsals (in recent years).

1) We rehearsed at the chapel - I think had like 3 or so run throughs. Then we went to a nice italian restaurant and had a family style dinner. The wedding party all received their gifts and there were a few toasts. (Immediate family, wedding party and their significant others, and the officiant were invited).

2) We rehearsed outside (in the ceremony space) - also about 3 run throughs. Then we went down to the common area (it was a location where we were all staying in cabins) and had lasagna, salad, and dessert. This wasn't as formal as the bride wanted it to be - it ended up being very casual without any toasts or people eating at the same time. (Immediate family, wedding party, significant others, and OOT guests were invited to this one).

For ours -- our rehearsal will be about an hour long at the church. Then we rented out the meeting rooms of one of the hotels in the our block. We will have food catered (those that were invited already picked their dishes). Immediate family, wedding party and their significant others, pastor and the wedding ceremony church coordinator were invited --- however only our immediate family the wedding party and their significant others are coming. Our wedding party also consisted of readers and ushers (not just the bridesmaids and groomsmen). Gifts will be given to all members of the wedding party and there will most likely be some toasts.

We are doing a quick "rehearsal" with the BP just to coordinate the order and places. Then everyone is invited to a welcome cocktail hour. Most of our guests are from out of town and I know they will want more than just one night to socialize. It will be from 4-6pm so that people can do whatever they want for dinner.