As wedding culture evolves each year so do the responsibilities of the bride and groom. The wedding day often becomes just a piece in a somewhat larger and more complex puzzle. This puzzle is carefully pieced together with brunches, activities, outings, and other events and forms a bigger and more special wedding experience. A key piece of the wedding puzzle is the rehearsal dinner.
The rehearsal dinner can be seen as the ceremonial ribbon cutting for the wedding race. It sets the pace, tone and expectations for those who are joining the wedding ceremonies. Rehearsal dinners take many shapes and forms; here are some guidelines for a successful rehearsal dinner:
Let your guests know what the venue is like:
Sometimes can be challenging for guests to make assumptions about the less-formal rehearsal dinner. Describing the dress for rehearsal dinners’bu siness casual’ can be standard operating procedure for many weddings, but leaves a lot open for interpretation. If you are planning on holding your dinner in a barn to fit your elegant-but-rustic themed wedding it might be best to let your guests know about the possibly dusty surroundings before they get there. The same goes if you choose to use the ballroom atop a skyscraper. Both venues still might fall under the classification of ‘business causal’.
Wherever your rehearsal dinner may be, your guests will appreciate the detailed advanced notice. Of course there may be guests who wish to wear their camouflage hunting-hat and Margaritaville t-shirt to the occasion, but at least you had given them the opportunity to dress well.
A relaxed atmosphere is key.
Overall, during a rehearsal dinner people are looking to relax, settle in, and get to know each other. Chances are many of the guests coming to the wedding have traveled far and wide to be there, sometimes after a workday. The atmosphere should be relaxed and welcoming enough for family members and friends on both sides of the aisle can meet and greet one another in comfort. Save the techno, dancing and Shot-ski for the reception.
Keep the toasts short and sweet:
The toasts at the rehearsal dinner are not meant to be an open mic night for everyone at the wedding. There may be some gather some liquid courage and give an emotional testimony to as why they love the bride and groom, so so much. The rehearsal dinner might not be the best time for that. If possible, try and guide those friends to deliver those speeches for the reception, or for SpeechBooth. We love seeing SpeechBooth being used at weddings beyond the just the reception–rehearsal dinners, brunches, whenever. We love capturing memories and all of the pieces that make up the wedding experience.
The wedding puzzle can be a complicated one, but it always manages to fit together in the end. The rehearsal dinner is a large piece of that puzzle and brings with it many rich memories. Fortunately, the larger wedding puzzle is a rewarding one to solve.
“We love seeing SpeechBooth being used at weddings beyond the just the reception–rehearsal dinners, brunches, whenever.”