Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner questions?

Ok, let me give it a try.

Etiquette states that ALL people traveling from out of town and staying at a hotel should be invited to the rehearsal dinner. Not necessarily the rehearsal itself; that's for the bridal party, readers, ushers and immediate family and of course the officiant.

I'd say NO to your fiance's aunt and uncle (parents of the groomsman) unless he really wants them there or they are traveling from out of town.

If budget concerns you, you can ask an extended family member to invite out of town family to dine with them at their home on Friday night.

Invitations for this event should be sent out after you have your rsvp's for the out of town guests, but as soon as possible for all who will be at the rehearsal. For your bridal party, a hand written note thanking them for everything they are doing for you and a pre-printed paper with rehearsal time & location as well as what the dinner plans are. For your out of town guests, a different paper printed for those coming from out of town, design more as an invitation and requesting an rsvp. "Thank you for joining us on our special day. We look forward to sharing this day with you." handwritten and on the insert "You are Invited to join our bridal party and family for our rehearsal dinner on...at...Please rsvp by..." ask your dinner venue when they'll need a final head count for dinner.

Remember, some coming from out of town may have plans to visit any other family or friends they may have in the area. Don't assume all out of towners will be coming to the dinner.

Hope this gives you some ideas. Good Luck!

Send each member of the wedding party a personal (meaning no spamming your friends) email asking for a good time for a phone conv. During the conv you talk about scheduling fittings, etc., and iron out the detail. At bare minimum only the members of the wedding party attend rehearsal. It is usual to provide some refreshments for these people, but not required unless the rehearsal takes so long that everyone will become famished.

The next step up from this is to include the significant others of the wedding party members. No, this doesn't mean that you have to include not so significant others; singles attend as singles. If parents and grandparents don't have a role at the rehearsal, then you can skip inviting them, and ditto for out of town guests. But if someone wants to provide food and drink for all these people and more, there is no limit.

I don't think it would be very nice to ask people to come watch the rehearsal, and then have a few of you sashay off to dinner while everyone else is left behind.

All those who will directly take part in the wedding ceremony are invited to the rehearsal dinner. This would include: the bride and groom, the parents, the officiant, the wedding party and the readers (if there are any). You must also include their spouses or dates.

Your rehearsal dinner budget will ultimately decide how long this guest list will become.

Written invitations are not mandatory but you may want to have invitations if you are inviting more people than just the immediate group. The invitations should be less formal than the wedding invitations and should be mailed out shortly after the wedding invitations have gone out.

Your wedding rehearsal is really only for the people who are in your wedding and the bride and groom’s parents. Out-of-town guests and close family members may want to sit in on the rehearsal, but suggest other activities for them during your trial run.

Good luck with everything!

Put the rehearsal dinner invitations right in your regular invites when you mail them. All out of town guests should receive one.

yes, invites should be sent. it is one of the most gracious things ever to invite out of town guests to the rehearsal and the dinner. i have been to out of town weddings and have not been included in the diinner i knew everyone was at and it was awkward.

when my brother got married my parents put on a huge dinner at a country club for everyone from out of town and there were over 60 people there.

it is still fondly remembered as the preparty to the wedding.