Who Gets an Invitation to the Rehearsal Dinner? (2024)

FAQs

Who Gets an Invitation to the Rehearsal Dinner? ›

The guest list at a rehearsal dinner should include the members of the wedding party and their spouses, fiancé(e)s, or significant others; the officiant and his or her spouse or partner; the parents, stepparents, and grandparents of the bride and groom; and any siblings of the bride and groom who are not in the wedding ...

Your immediate families, the bridal party (including the parents of the flower girl and ring bearer, even if they're not in the wedding), any ceremony readers, and your officiant (plus his or her spouse, if married) should always be invited to the rehearsal dinner.

Traditionally, the ceremony is practiced before the meal and mingling. Then, guests are wined-and-dined at formal sit-down dinner, funded by the groom's parents. However, at modern day rehearsal dinners, it holds true that anything goes.

While it's a common custom for the bride's parents to pay for the wedding ceremony and reception, the groom's parents traditionally pay for the rehearsal dinner. It's the way to go if you're following traditional rehearsal dinner etiquette, and the groom's family is willing to host.

In traditional wedding etiquette, guests who are coming in from out of town are usually invited to the rehearsal dinner. It's a token of appreciation as these guests typically spend more money, time, and effort in order to be present for your nuptials.

However, keep in mind that the rehearsal dinner is meant to be an intimate gathering for those who are involved with the wedding. The average rehearsal dinner has between 15 and 50 people – it all will depend on the size of your family and wedding party!

Plus, they will be attending the ceremony rehearsal, so their inclusion at the rehearsal dinner is a no brainer. Having bridesmaids and groomsmen bring a plus-one is at your discretion, especially if you're hoping to have a more intimate rehearsal dinner, but spouses and long-term partners are typically recommended.

Aunts and uncles can be included as rehearsal dinner guests if you're particularly close with them, or if they're involved in the wedding ceremony in any way. If not, you can generally feel free to skip the invite.

There must be respect for any dress code or theme specified in an invitation for a wedding and rehearsal dinner. A full-length gown should be worn by the mother of the bride (and mother of the groom) if the fine print specifies 'black tie'.

It is rarely “wrong” to give someone a gift, but it might be awkward in this case. It's not customary for the groom's parents to give the bride's parents a gift at either the rehearsal dinner or the wedding. Traditionally, the groom's parents host and pay for the rehearsal dinner.

Is it rude to not pay for a rehearsal dinner? ›

Yes, the hosts are required to pay for all of the guests at a rehearsal dinner. It's not really appropriate to ask guests to pay for this event, the reason being that the wedding party is required to attend the rehearsal; it is not an optional event that they can bow out of if they cannot afford the dinner.

Typically, the couple will sit with their immediate family members—parents and siblings—but they may also sit with their wedding party (and their plus-ones) and give each set of parents their own table to sit with loved ones.

While the rehearsal dinner generally hosts 30 to 40 guests, the welcome reception can be opened up to the entire guest list. (We encourage this especially when you have a destination wedding and more than 75% of the guests are traveling to your event.)

Pre-wedding events are focused on the bride and groom, and since this event isn't one that usually requires a gift for the happy couple, most people don't even consider bringing something to thank the hosts for their hospitality, and doing so definitely isn't required.

“Parents of the couple should be seated next to or across from their son or daughter, with grandparents seated next to the couple's parents,” says Lindsey Sachs of COLLECTIVE/by Sachs in Boulder, Colorado and Minneapolis. “The wedding party and their dates should be seated together.”

Who attends the Wedding rehearsal? The wedding couple, the bridal party and their significant others, child attendants (flower girls and ring bearers) and their parents, the wedding couple's parents, and any other family members, including grandparents who will be participating in the processional.

The groom's family traditionally paid for all costs associated with the rehearsal dinner and honeymoon, wedding day transportation, and the officiant. The groom paid for the bride's engagement ring, wedding ring, and groomsmen gifts. It is also common for the groom's family to pay for the alcohol at the reception.

It's Not Common... While it's quite common for the bride and groom to bring gifts to the rehearsal dinner (which they'll distribute to their parents and their wedding party), it's unusual to see guests arrive with a gift in hand, as well.