Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Ideas, Timeline, and Etiquette

The day before their wedding, most couples decide to hold a ceremony rehearsal. As a way to thank everyone for their support, you can invite everyone to a rehearsal dinner afterward.

If you need wedding rehearsal dinner ideas, remember: you can plan any type of party, from a formal dinner to a casual backyard barbecue.

To get started, decide who’ll host, plan, and pay for the rehearsal dinner. If you’re planning it yourself, start by setting the budget. Once that’s decided, you can figure out a venue and a menu.

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Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Themes

You don’t need a complicated theme for your dinner. You can plan a nice dinner and choose invitations with flowers or greenery.

If you do want to add a theme, the easiest way is by choosing one that matches the type of food you’ll serve. Adding a theme can be a fun way to jazz up the dinner. Especially if you’re serving inexpensive food.

For example, you could serve Italian food and add a Mediterranean theme. You can serve a simple pasta with lemons and capers, plus salads and bread. Bring out the theme by using blue and yellow tiles in your invitations, napkins, menus and other decorations.

Or serve pasta with Bolognese sauce, plus salads and bread, but add an Italian Bistro theme. You can decorate with red and white checkered tablecloths and candles in wine bottles. Serve the food family style for a fun and delicious dinner.

More Rehearsal Dinner Theme Ideas

Evening in Paris
Inspired by Tuscany
Mexican Fiesta
Nautical seafood
I Do BBQ
Breakfast for dinner
Pizza party

Simple Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Ideas

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If you’re planning your own rehearsal dinner, try to keep it simple. You’ve already got a whole lot going on with the wedding. The rehearsal dinner doesn’t need to be over the top.

Remember, the wedding is the next day, and you don’t want to peak too soon. The rehearsal dinner can be a low key chance to socialize, relax and say thank you to your bridal party before the big day.

The easiest way to plan a simple dinner is by booking a restaurant. Look for a restaurant that offers private rooms. Most won’t charge a venue fee, as long as you’re ordering food for everyone. If you need to stick to a budget, make sure the restaurant has a set menu that you can choose from ahead of time.

If you’d like to host a unique dinner, try booking a specialty restaurant. Maybe you can find a pizza place with a wood burning oven. Or a Mongolian barbecue, where watching the chef is part of the fun.

Easy Rehearsal Dinner Food Ideas to DIY

If you’re planning an at home dinner, you can order catering from your favorite restaurant. You can order your favorite dishes. Or stick to a budget with family style pasta, pizza and salads.

If you’d rather DIY your wedding rehearsal dinner, you can make a taco bar, a burger bar or pasta stations. Keep it simple by choosing dishes that can be either served cold, or made ahead and frozen. On the day of the rehearsal dinner, they’ll be easy to serve.

Pasta and salad buffet
Gourmet sandwich bar
Self serve taco bar
Build your own burrito bowls
Barbecue hamburger bar

Rehearsal Dinner Etiquette

Who Pays for a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner?

Traditionally, the groom’s parents would pay for the rehearsal dinner. But many couples decide to pay for it themselves or include it as part of the overall wedding budget.

Who Plans a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner?

The rehearsal dinner can be planned by any close family or friends, or you can plan it yourself. Sometimes, the groom or the bride’s parents will offer to plan and pay for a rehearsal dinner.

If they do, you can let them take the lead in the planning if you and your partner are comfortable with it. If you aren’t, you can plan the event yourselves!

Who Should Be Invited to the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner?

That answer varies from couple to couple. If you and your partner want everyone special to you to attend the dinner and have the budget to do so, then feel free to invite as many special guests as you’d like.

If you’re on a budget or prefer a more private affair, only invite guests who need to attend. This would include bridesmaids, groomsmen, the officiant, and any flower girls or ring bearers.

Usually, both sets of parents and siblings are invited. If you’re close with grandparents, aunts or uncles, sometimes they’ll be invited as well.

Some families invite any out of town guests to the rehearsal dinner. It’s a nice gesture, but it’s not a requirement, especially if you’ve got a small budget.

The Guest List For a Rehearsal Dinner:

The bride and groom
Officiant
Parents and siblings
Bridesmaids
Groomsmen
Flower girls and their parents
Ring bearers and their parents
Ushers
Readers

How Much Does a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Cost?

The dinner hosts will pay for food and drinks for the entire party. Set your budget before you start planning, and then you can decide on your guest list and venue.

You’ll need to pay for beverages like water, soft drinks, and coffee. If you can afford wine, beer, or cocktails, it’s a nice touch. But if you’re on a tight budget, alcohol isn’t required.

If you’ve got a small budget, you can save money by offering casual food or planning a DIY dinner at home with only essential guests. The general guidelines for wedding rehearsal dinners are as follows:

If you host your wedding rehearsal dinner at a semi-formal restaurant or have it catered, expect to pay around $55 a person. This covers food, drinks, and appetizers.
If your wedding rehearsal dinner is taking place at an upscale venue or restaurant, expect to pay around $75-$85 per person. This would cover food and drinks while accounting for the higher costs of finer dining.
If you plan to host a rehearsal dinner at home or at an informal location, the cost per person would average $25 per person for basic food and drinks.

Sample Budget For a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

The sample budget is for 15 adults and two kids at a restaurant with a set menu. The guest list includes the officiant, the couple, 2 sets of parents, 3 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen, the flower girl, the ring bearer, and the kids’ parents.

You’ll also be bringing thank-you gifts for your parents and bridal party, but most couples include that expense in the central wedding budget.

$825 Food (Set menu $55 per person x 15)
$20 Kid’s plates ($10 x 2 kids)
$300 Beverages ($20 per person x 15)
$12 Soft drinks for kids ($6 x 2 kids)
$50 Invitations
$100 Decorations

Grand Total $1,307

Rehearsal Dinner Timeline: What Happens at a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner?

Because the wedding is the next day, most parties don’t run too late. There’s usually time for cocktails, dinner, and a few toasts. You’ll socialize a bit, thank everyone for their support and hand out your bridal party gifts.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Wedding ceremony rehearsal.
6:30 pm Cocktails and icebreaker activity.
7:00 pm The groom’s parents or hosts can welcome the guests with the first toast. Dinner is served.
8:00 pm The bride and groom can thank everyone for coming. If any other members of the bridal party want to give a toast, now is the time.
8:30 pm Give out thank you gifts to your parents and bridal party members.
9:00 pm Early night - tomorrow’s the big day!

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Planning Checklist

Book your wedding ceremony rehearsal.
Start planning your ceremony rehearsal. Book the venue and officiant for a rehearsal the night before the wedding.
Decide on your budget for the rehearsal dinner.
After all the wedding planning, your budget might be getting a bit tight. It’s ok if your rehearsal dinner budget is on the small side. As long as you’ve got enough to feed your guests something tasty and filling, a small budget is fine.
Choose a location for the dinner.
Try to find a location that’s close to your rehearsal. You’ve only got a few hours for your dinner. Try not to spend too much time traveling.
Send out your invitations.
The invitations should be sent 4 to 6 weeks ahead of time. Formal invitations are only required if the dinner is formal. If you’re planning semi formal or casual, you can send printed invitations, DIY invitations, hand written invites or even text or email invitations.
Finalize the menu.
Finalize the meal with your restaurant, caterer or delivery. If you’re doing DIY, finalize your plan and start your prep.
Decide what you’re going to wear.
Choose your outfit based on the location of the dinner. If it’s semi formal, you can wear a white, colored or patterned cocktail dress. If it’s more casual, you might choose a sundress, a romper or slacks with a cute top.
Wrap up the thank you gifts for your parents and bridal party.
Traditionally, your bridal party thank you gifts are given at the rehearsal dinner. It’s best to hand them out near the end of the evening.
On the Day Of:
Rehearse your ceremony, host your dinner, thank your bridal party and enjoy your evening!

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

You can find invitations in every style and price range. You can choose based on your theme, your colors or your budget.

Activities or Ice Breakers Before Dinner

If most of your guests don’t know each other, a short activity or game is a fun way to break the ice. If you’re uncomfortable with speeches or toasts, you could even choose Wedding Mad Libs as your activity. Then read the best out loud instead of making speeches.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Decorations

If you’re booking a restaurant or other full service venue, you won’t need to do a lot of decorating. If you’d like, you can add personalized napkins, menus, or place cards to brighten up your table.

If you’re planning an at home dinner, you can choose decor that matches your style or theme. You can add a simple banner or balloons. Or you can go all out and order matching table decor, dishes and napkins for your dinner party.

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Wedding Rehearsal Dinner: Ideas, Etiquette and Timeline