REHEARSAL DINNER

More than just a meal, the rehearsal dinner is the perfect opportunity to thank friends and family for their participation and assistance during the planning of your big day!

After all of the time and effort you and your fiancé have put into making your wedding a memorable occasion, you'll want your ceremony to go off without a hitch. With today's brides moving away from traditional wedding ceremonies, your attendants and other participants must be well-versed in the circumstances of the ceremony. The wedding rehearsal gives everyone a chance to practice their roles in the ceremony before going public - ensuring you will have a beautiful ceremony, without any embarrassing blunders.

The wedding rehearsal - usually held at the ceremony site - generally takes place the day before the wedding and is traditionally followed by a dinner. You may opt to host the dinner prior to the rehearsal ceremony or hold both on an entirely different day.

Every person involved in your ceremony should attend the bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, flower girl, and ring bearer, officiant, readers, musicians, and especially the bride and groom. It is considerate to invite the spouse or significant other of each attendant.

Walk through the entire ceremony a couple of times so that everyone knows their parts and their queues. It is also a good idea to have your wedding consultant on hand for any last-minute questions.

After the rehearsal everyone gathers for a celebratory dinner. The rehearsal dinner, if possible, should be held near the ceremony site. The traditional guest list should be as simple to include you and your fiancé, your immediate families, the wedding party, and their spouses or significant others. It's becoming more popular to make it a larger event and invite all your out-of-town guests as well. If you'd rather have the rehearsal be an intimate affair but don't want to exclude other guests, think about hosting the rehearsal two nights before the wedding day - and then having a welcome party for out-of-towners on the night before instead.

The options are endless when deciding where to host the dinner. You can choose a private room in a restaurant or hotel, an elegant formal dinner at a country club, or a themed rehearsal dinner that reflects your interests. Some couples may even have their reception caterer prepare the rehearsal dinner as a " test-run" for the real wedding reception.

Consider having your rehearsal dinner completely different than your wedding. For instance, if your wedding is a formal sit-down dinner, then plan a rehearsal dinner that is more casual. If you are serving chicken or beef for the wedding, then try Italian food for the rehearsal dinner.

As with your reception food, sample the cuisine before you hire anyone. Find out how many servers will be assigned to your group, and go over any other details to make sure that your dinner is a success. Whether you go to a restaurant or decide to have your rehearsal dinner catered, you want to make sure that the food is delicious. And book your dinner site as soon as possible so that you can focus on the menu instead. 

Where you decide to have yours depends on the budget of whoever is throwing it, how many guests there will be - and often simply what kind of party the host or hostess envisions. No matter what style or theme you choose, the event should be enjoyable for your guests and everyone should feel relaxed, welcomed and special.

At some point during the evening, traditionally the best man offers a toast to the bride and groom. The groom then follows with a toast to his bride and her parents. The bride may follow with a toast to her groom and his family. You should make sure that everyone is introduced to each other, either through formal introductions or informally by mixing and mingling. A special touch would be to introduce the wedding party and say something personal about each one, how you met, and maybe point out a positive characteristic about that person.

The purpose of a rehearsal dinner is to provide an intimate setting for the two families to mingle before the big event. Many brides and grooms will show home movies or video clips of when they were young, how they met, or even the actual proposal on tape. These all make for a good icebreakers and certainly add a lot of fun and personalization to the evening.

In addition to being an integral part of having a successful ceremony, the rehearsal dinner will be the last quiet time you will be able to spend with your close family and friends before your big day. Take this time to spend some quality time with your loved ones, and declare the festivities begun.