Rehearsal Dinner Etiquette – A Quick Glance
September 22, 2009
Weddings can be a complicated affair. There are rules and procedures at every turn. Families preparing for a wedding often receive a crash course in party planning and guest accommodations. The rehearsal dinner is an important element of a wedding, and rehearsal dinner etiquette can be pretty complex. But if the rules are understood, there’s no reason for it to be anything but an enjoyable element of an overall enjoyable wedding experience.
Here’re some wedding rehearsal dinner etiquette tips. The groom’s parents are considered to be the hosts for the rehearsal dinner. That means the organization and decisions should be left to them. For couples who prefer to host the dinner themselves as a thanks to the families and wedding guests, make sure to explain the reasoning to the grooms parents so as not to insult them. And if they take it hard, include them in some way. Why take on more work when letting others manage it makes them happier?
The dinner should take place the day before the wedding, directly after the wedding rehearsal. This ensures that all the guests and family are in town, available to attend. It’s very bad form to hold the rehearsal dinner too far in advance of the wedding. It potentially excludes some people. The last thing needed from a wedding is hurt feelings in either family. Remember, for the bride and groom both families are soon to become their family.
Make sure to invite the immediate relatives on both sides of the wedding. Also invite the whole bridal party and any other close friends or family of the soon to be married. The preacher or whoever officiates the wedding, offers the vows, should also be invited. Take care with these invitations. Failing to invite someone could lead to years of bad feelings, do you want that?
Dinner begins with a time for people to talk and mingle. Be aware of the pressure people face at a wedding, so lighten the mood. Keep this dinner in line with the budget of the overall wedding. If it’s a million dollar wedding then the rehearsal dinner should reflect this. By the same token a budget wedding should have too fancy of a rehearsal dinnerA less expensive wedding warrants a less expensive rehearsal dinner. And don’t keep people out too late the night before the big day.
Here’s a rehearsal dinner etiquette tip for wedding toasts. The bride and groom toast all those helping to make the wedding wonderful. This includes both the bride’s and groom’s parents, and anyone else who has helped. The toast comes after the main course. Save other toasts for the reception.
Don’t ruin a nice wedding by stepping on toes at the rehearsal dinner. Keep rehearsal dinner etiquette in mind.















