Who Should Be at the Rehearsal Dinner?
We all know that a lot goes into planning a wedding, but the wedding festivities start before it’s time to walk down the aisle. The wedding really starts at the rehearsal dinner, which is typically the day before the wedding. This dinner is used to say ‘thank you’ to everybody that has helped with the wedding and to welcome guests that have traveled far to be with you. It’s also a great time for the wedding party to get to know each other a little more and have other friends and family meet before the big day! So who gets to come to the intimate event? We pulled together some guidelines for who should be on the guest list!
Your wedding party should be at the rehearsal dinner, along with their significant others and plus ones. Typically the bridesmaids and groomsmen have put in a fair amount of their free time and even some vacation days to be a part of the events and planning leading up to this big day, and this is the perfect time to say thank you and show your appreciation. It is also a common courtesy to invite the officiant or priest that is performing the ceremony for you. This also might be the first time that some of the wedding party is meeting each other, and will be a nice time to break the ice before everybody is making their way down the aisle.
The couple’s close family-parents, grandparents, and siblings- should also be at the dinner. Along with the wedding party, these people have given emotional support, their time, and probably monetary support in this time. They are so excited to have new family members come together, and it is a great time to kick off the celebration. If there are close family friends or other family members that are close to the couple, this would also be an opportunity where they can be included and appreciated.
There tends to be a few guests that have traveled a long way to celebrate this special moment, and they are usually invited to the rehearsal dinner as well. This is a way to give the out of town guests something to do the night before the wedding and get to see some guests that they have not seen in awhile.
Ultimately, it is up to the couple who will be at the rehearsal dinner and how many people will be there. We suggest keeping the dinner to about thirty people to keep it more intimate and make sure that everybody feels appreciated during this time. Refer to our blog post on putting a fun spin on your rehearsal dinner to get everybody excited for the wedding festivities!
