Planning a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

With all the preparation that goes into planning your dream wedding, you want to ensure that you don’t let the details of your wedding rehearsal dinner or day-after wedding brunch slip through the cracks. Whether these are intimate celebrations with immediate family and close friends or big events, they are another important and memorable part of your wedding week celebration. To ensure that no detail goes forgotten, follow the tips below.

Select a Theme

One of the first things you want to do when planning your rehearsal dinner is to select a theme for the event. While you may choose to have elements of your wedding, such as your wedding colors, serve as part of the décor, your rehearsal dinner can have its own specific theme, or particular look and feel. By selecting your theme first, you will know what type of venue to seek out.

Create a Guest List

The guest list for your rehearsal dinner is often quite different from your wedding’s guest list. You will need your list to help reserve a suitably sized venue, to have your invitations printed, and to help determine your catering needs.

Find a Venue

Now that you have determined the theme of your event and the size of your group, it is time to start looking for a venue. While the location for your rehearsal dinner or day after brunch may not be as difficult to reserve as your wedding venue, you should try to identify and reserve it at least 4-6 months in advance.

Select a Caterer

If the venue you select will not be providing food, you will need to hire a caterer for the occasion. You may opt to use the same caterer you hired for the wedding, or you might consider ordering casual local fair that your out-of-town friends and family will enjoy.

Hire a Decorator

Many wedding planners hire the same decorator for the rehearsal dinner that they use for the wedding. Depending on the venue that you book, however, décor may be partially or fully included as part of your venue package. If you opt to forgo a decorator altogether, you can request that your wedding florist provide decorative centerpieces for your tables.

Create a Checklist

Now that all advanced reservations have been booked, and you have a theme, guest list, and venue, you’ll want to create a checklist for all of the remaining details. It is also helpful to make a timeline for completing each of the remaining items on your to-do list. This checklist should include items such as sending out invitations, selecting the people giving toasts, creating a seating chart, making place cards, and purchasing gifts for the bridal party.

By using the tips above, you can plan a rehearsal dinner or day-after brunch in an organized and stress-free manner. Whether you are the bride or groom, or were simply assigned the task of organizing these special events, the end result will be memorable for years to come.

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