Photo credit: Carter Rose Photography
Let’s Make It Easy & Fun!
Planning a wedding rehearsal dinner is hard. And confusing.
There’s a lot of help for the wedding, but what about the night before?
As the engaged couple, are you supposed to plan (and pay for!) your own rehearsal dinner? We already have decision fatigue when it comes to the wedding day and now we have to worry about the night before too?
As the parent, family, or member of the wedding party, is it our responsibility to host the rehearsal dinner? What are the expectations of us? More importantly, we don’t want to upstage the wedding day, how can we make it different, but still make it special?
No matter who you are or what you’re relation or involvement to the wedding day itself, there are lots of questions when it comes to the rehearsal dinner.
Let’s Get Rehearsed is here to end the confusion and overwhelm. Let’s make your rehearsal dinner or welcome party smooth, seamless, and fun, so you and your loved ones can relax the night before the big day!
Let’s get to the party!
Let’s Meet The Editor!
It all began with a garter. (Yes, a wedding garter!) Hi, and welcome! I’m Julianne Smith. The girl behind the scenes at Let’s Get Rehearsed.
I live in Washington, D.C. with my husband and three kids. I began my career in politics and media, but in 2008, I started The Garter Girl when I couldn’t find a stylish garter worthy of my best friend.
Since then, I’ve been working in and around weddings helping engaged couples find ease in the wedding planning process. I also work with fellow small businesses through Garter Girl Creative, a wedding media and marketing agency
With Let’s Get Rehearsed, I’m passionate about helping you take the stress out of planning. Let’s relax and celebrate the night before your big wedding day!!
Photo credit: Phillip Van Nostrand Photography
Photo credit: Carter Rose Photography
Q: What even is a wedding rehearsal dinner & is that different than a welcome party?
A: Spoiler alert, a wedding rehearsal dinner, and a welcome party are essentially the same thing. Both events refer to the night (or day) before the wedding celebration festivities.
Before the dinner or the welcome party itself, the event usually starts off with a walk-through, or rehearsal, of the wedding day ceremony so that everyone involved knows where to be and when the next day.
Q: Who do you invite to the rehearsal dinner? Everyone or just the wedding party?
Photo credit: Carter Rose Photography
A: Typically, the wedding rehearsal dinner guest list includes the wedding party, immediate and/or extended family, out-of-towners, officiant, and all of their plus ones. We’re not one to “enforce” every tradition, so invite whoever feels right to you. Determine your guest list to match your wedding rehearsal dinner vibe and budget.
Q: Who is supposed to pay for the wedding
rehearsal dinner?
A: Tradition has it that one of the partner's parents - usually the one not paying for the wedding day - will cover the cost of the rehearsal dinner. But, if we know today’s weddings, tradition is out the window!
Be sure to talk about and include the rehearsal dinner when you’re budgeting for the entire wedding so everyone is on the same page.
Q: What do you wear to your wedding rehearsal dinner?
A: Your rehearsal dinner outfit is likely the last outfit your guests will see you in before the wedding ceremony, so choose something you feel confident in without upstaging your wedding day outfit. And remember, you’ll be seeing lots of people you haven’t seen in a while and the cameras will be out!
Q: Should we do formal invitations or is E-mail OK? …and when do we send?
Photo credit: Love Life Images
A: You do you when it comes to wedding rehearsal dinner invitations. Paper printed and mailed, or digitally sent via email or text, either can work as long as the message gets out to who it needs to get to.
Pro tip: Don’t send your rehearsal dinner invites out too early! Be sure to wait until after the wedding invitations are sent.
Q: Are we supposed to get a photographer? A wedding planner?
A: Hiring vendors for a rehearsal dinner has its pro’s and con’s. A photographer can help capture those beautiful moments at your wedding rehearsal dinner and make the night before your wedding an evening to remember. Wedding planners can help organize the rehearsal for the next day and ensure a smooth, stress-free party.
When you’re thinking about what vendor support you’ll need or want, just ask yourself how much you want to be doing the night before the big day and hire accordingly.
There are so many questions and confusion when it comes to planning the wedding rehearsal dinner. We understand!
That’s why Let’s Get Rehearsed was created.
If you need a little help with the celebration before the big day and you don't know where to start, Let’s Get Rehearsed is your best friend and your best helper.
Let’s Plan! Let’s Rehearse! Let’s Celebrate!
Let’s Get To The Celebration!
Let’s Get Rehearsed is the source for all things the night before the big day!
Let’s Get Connected!
Do you have a rehearsal dinner question or a problem that we haven’t (yet!) addressed? We’d love to hear from you and help you out. Send us an email we’ll get right on it for you!
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