Rehearsal dinners are the perfect prelude for a wedding. It’s a sneak peek of the festivities that will take place on the big day. You do have to plan it like other wedding days and have to hire the venue and event rentals for it as well. To know what you should and shouldn’t when planning a rehearsal dinner, follow this guide.
What To Do And Not To Do When Planning A Rehearsal Dinner?
Do Start Early
Planning for a wedding can be really stressful and if you guys are going for a rehearsal dinner too, then strap up, because it’s going to be a long ride of planning, going back and forth, and ensuring that everything goes smoothly. Well, if you don’t want to succumb to the stress of planning, then here is a tip that will save your life, and that is to start early. You want to hit the ground running when you want to plan a rehearsal dinner.
The faster you plan things, the more time you’ll have on your hands for those small, but inevitable changes. So, this is something that will not only ensure that everything gets done on time, but you’ll also have time on your hands to make sure that everything is exactly how you want it to be. It can get tedious, but if you have lots of time, then it’s no biggie.
Don’t Stress Out
This is easier said than done, but you need to hold onto your peace as much as you can. Yes, planning a wedding is fun and all, but all of that endless planning, calling vendors, looking for venues, finding dresses, etc., can be very cumbersome. Add to that a rehearsal dinner and it’s pretty easy to get stressed.
So, bite off what you can chew. Make the planning easier, hire an event planner if you need to, and just make sure to enjoy the process. Everything will be history, but the memories are what are worth looking back on.
Do Keep The Guest List Short
Even though you might think that you have to invite everyone and anyone to the rehearsal dinner – that’s not usually the case. You can keep things small and intimate for the rehearsal dinner and it will be perfect. If you’re confused about making a guest list, then you can start with both families, the bridal party, and your friends. This is more than enough.
If you still have room for more, then you can add a couple more guests in. However, it doesn’t have to be a 200-300-people guest list. That’s just overkill.
Don’t Make It Larger Than Life
Everyone wants their wedding and associated events to look extravagant and while you can give into the temptation of making everything look over-the-top and grand, it’s better if you keep things minimal. That doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything, but it’s useless to build your expectations on something so surface-level.
Yes, people will admire the unique décor of the rehearsal dinner, the fancy dress code, and the elaborate menu, but what you want is just good company before the big day. It’s a dinner filled with people you love and lots of catching up over good food and drinks while wishing the couple a good life.
Do Consider Reservations
When looking at venues for a rehearsal dinner, especially if you want to choose a restaurant or resort of sorts, you want to keep reservations in mind. A lot of restaurants offer services for rehearsal dinners and if you want to bag your favorite spot for a beautiful evening, then you need to keep reservations on the forefront.
This will make everything easy and you’ll book your desired place in no time. There is nothing that gets easier than this. So, whenever you set your sights on a venue, ask about the reservation status.
Don’t Make It Long
Rehearsal dinners usually consist of a lot of speeches from the guests and while they’re heartwarming and emotional, you should keep them short.
Let’s be real – there will be a lot of people who want to give their words of love to the new couple, but if you don’t want the rehearsal dinner to turn into a rehearsal slumber party, then it’s best to let the guests know that they’ll have to be creative with their words and keep it short and sweet. This is going to wrap everything up quickly and you’ll be good to go.
Do Go Over Everything
When you have a lot of wedding events to plan and they’re very close in the schedule to each other, it’s easy to forget things off the top of your head. So, as the main couple, you want to go through everything one final time, before you can enjoy the wedding festivities and take a breather at the rehearsal dinner.
This might seem like a no-brainer but you will be surprised at how people can forget this detail and then they are flitting around on the day or the evening of the event, trying to find backups. Well, don’t be that person, and be prepared.
Don’t Forget Restriction-Inclusive Foods
A rehearsal dinner will have food, obviously. Not having food at an event is like dancing without any music. But, here’s the thing. There will be people at the rehearsal dinner who can’t eat everything. Their diets are restricted and while it is a bummer for them, you don’t want them to feel left out.
Make sure to have some dietary restrictive foods as options too. This is such a wonderful gesture from the couple to the guests and it won’t go unnoticed. So, keep this detail in mind when you’re finalizing the menu.
Do Take Care Of Punctuality
Rehearsal dinners are chill and laid back, but that doesn’t mean that you lose track of time. Make sure that you’re mentioning the fact that people have to reach a certain time on the invitations.
Punctuality is something that everyone has to take care of, and if you’re expecting people to be there at a certain time then you need to show up before that too so that you can greet the guests. This is the least you can do as a host, so don’t shy away from telling people that they need to take care of the time. They will understand.
Don’t Put A Damper On The Wedding
A rehearsal dinner is really just a trailer of what’s going to happen at the wedding. It should be a sneak peek, so don’t make the mistake of giving everything away that evening. You still want people to anticipate the wedding. That is the main event and you don’t want the rehearsal dinner to overshadow it by any means.
This is why it’s recommended that you keep things tame and fun, without being too extravagant or over-the-top. That should be reserved for the wedding. You’ll thank yourself for thinking things through.
Conclusion
This guide was for the bride and groom to help them plan the rehearsal dinner without making mistakes, from the planning phase down to the execution. It’s all about planning and managing things and hiring the right people including wedding tent rentals Northern VA.