Has anyone hosted a Rehearsal dinner?

[Carolyn Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carolyn]

Our son is getting married in a few weeks. Even though we had a rehearsal dinner for our oldest son last year, I would love to hear of others experiences, advice etc. My biggest problem is that the list keeps growing. We are up to 50 and the room holds 50! I don't know who is going to be eating under the table Any good ideas for toasts, introductions, etc? Thanks.

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

I have a son getting on Sept 16th and have some of the same questions. I will be watching this tread.

Mike

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

I threw my own rehearsal dinner when I got married 13 years ago. Actually, it was a picnic, and there wasn't a real rehearsal -- it was mostly just a chance for my family to meet his family. I prepared the food (except that some was barbecued in the park), with a little help from my sister (who was busy with two toddlers, so couldn't help much) and my Mom (who was ill, so also couldn't help much.) We had maybe 25-35 people there. (Dh has a big family!) I think the wedding was two days later.

My advice to any brides who want to throw their rehearsal dinner -- don't! I did the flowers for the wedding, and made all the hair and shoe ornaments for the bridesmaids, too. (We didn't have much money, so I was trying to save money by doing as much as possible myself.) I was overwhelmed!

[travelfan Member Find all posts View Profile Close travelfan]

Have 2 sons and did 2 rehearsal dinners.

Each dinner was different. But, technically, the only persons that should be attending a rehersal dinner are the persons involved in the wedding rehersal, not friends and family members otherwise attending.

That said, we did agree to host 4 out of town family members and 2 friends of the bride's family that were actually staying with the bride's family.

What is it about "REHERSAL" dinner that is not understood? It is not a mini wedding reception!

JMHO

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

Here is what we have planned. There will be a sit down dinner, at a local restaurant called Speakeasy, with a choice of 4 entrées Braised Pork Shank, New York Strip, Chicken and Mushroom and, Vegetarians Pasta. RSVP invitations were sent out to guests to make their choice of entrée. There will be 37 guests this includes spouses or significant other :

1. The Wedding party of 3
2. The bride’s parents, step parent, brothers, sisters, stepsister, and grandparents
3. The grooms’ parents, and grandparents
4. The pastor

Wine will be served with dinner otherwise it will be a cash bar. The dinner will be the night before the wedding right after the rehearsal.

Mike

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

we hosted one last year for my son, and will probably have to host the one for my daughter next year.
My daughter in law planned it at a Chicago downtown Spanish restaurant. she ordered the tapas feast. we ate little bits of food for hours. the bar bill was significant, lots of sangria. the only one not in the wedding party was my daughter and her fiance. none of the guys who were in the wedding party brought their wives or dates, I don't know why. I didn't plan anything, I only paid the bill. I told my son he would get a gift for x aqmount, including the cost of officiate, rehearsal dinner, etc. (I really didn't mean it). I think they tried to tone down the cost of the dinner but it was still 4 figures. By the way, there was no rehearsal before the dinner, they had rented the ballroom at the Art Institute for the wedding and it wasn't available the night before.
.
Now my daughter will be a different story, she has 7 bridesmaids and is now picking flower girls, etc. she wants everyone to bring a dish to pass. How this will be possible with everyone coming from out of town, I don't know.
We are having the wedding at Chula Vista resort. They showed us their new Chop House for the rehearsal dinner. The entrees ran from $30 to 64 dollars. I almost choked.

[mikey0531 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mikey0531]

We didn't stick to the conventional rehearsal dinner idea. We invited all the out of town guests. We got married in Toronto and most of our guests were from Ohio (where my husband is from) -- so we decided to host the party after our rehearsal at my dad's house. We had it outside and everyone loved it. I think there were about 40 people or so. We grilled shrimp, burgers, & chicken.

Debi

[Carolyn Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carolyn]

Thanks for everyone sharing their individual experiences. Were there any formal toasts made at your dinners? I thought the father of the groom should toast the couple first. There is also a family member who is flying in from Iraq and we would like to recognize her in some way. Any ideas? Thanks for your input!

Carolyn

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Carolyn,

I was at a rehearsal dinner a couple of years ago where there were pictures of the bride and groom from their childhood.

Someone put together a collage on poster board from when they were babies until the present. The board was decorated with wedding motifs.....It was very nice, and seemed to attract a lot of attention. It was a good ice breaker.

[mikey0531 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mikey0531]

Thanks for everyone sharing their individual experiences. Were there any formal toasts made at your dinners? I thought the father of the groom should toast the couple first. There is also a family member who is flying in from Iraq and we would like to recognize her in some way. Any ideas? Thanks for your input!

Carolyn

We didn't do any formal toasts -- seeing as that was to be done at the wedding. My dad just welcomed everyone to our home -- and said that he was happy that they all were able to make the trip to Toronto -- and that he hoped they all enjoyed themselves. He thanked them all for joining us. You could do a similar welcome to your guest from Iraq.

Debi

[Linda VH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Linda VH]

A toast from the grooms family (father or someone else) welcoming the bride to the family is always extremely nice. My first wedding (I was widowed) rehearsal dinner my husband's family welcomed me to the family with a short toast. That was in 1970 and I still remember it!!