Rehearsal dinner ideas that don't compete with the wedding
How to plan a rehearsal dinner that feels relaxed and personal, leaves room for the wedding to be the big night, and ends early enough.
The rehearsal dinner sits in an odd spot. It's the first time both families and the wedding party are in the same room, but it shouldn't feel like a smaller version of the wedding. The best ones are relaxed, a little personal, and over by 9.
Go casual on purpose
If the wedding is formal, make the rehearsal dinner the opposite. A barbecue, a family-style Italian dinner, a backyard with a taco truck. It gives guests a different memory and gives you a night off from the color palette.
This is the night for stories
Wedding toasts have to work for 150 people. Rehearsal dinner toasts can be longer, more specific and full of inside jokes. Invite the people who knew you before you were a couple: the college roommate, the aunt who taught you to drive. Ask them to keep it to a few minutes each.
Keep the guest list honest
Traditionally it's the wedding party, immediate family and anyone in the ceremony, plus their partners. Some couples invite all the out-of-town guests too. That's generous, but it can turn the rehearsal dinner into a second reception, which defeats the purpose.
End early
Everyone has an early start tomorrow. Plan the dinner so it can end by 9 or 9:30, and tell the venue so the check doesn't drag on. A short walk or a dessert stop afterward is fine for anyone who wants to stay out.