Your wedding rehearsal is pretty important! It lets you walk through your wedding ceremony so everyone will know exactly where to stand and what they need to do. It also helps relieve some nerves and helps set your mind at ease. Most couples will also have a rehearsal dinner after the wedding rehearsal as a thank you for the wedding party and family who have helped in the wedding planning.
Some wedding venues may let you have unlimited time at your venue for your rehearsal so you can have the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in the same location. Other venues may only give you limited time or may be a space that doesn't have room for dining, like a smaller church. You won't want to have to rush through dinner or not have enough time to go through your wedding as many times as you need. Instead of trying to fit everything into a small block of time, have your wedding rehearsal at your venue and then have your rehearsal dinner at a different location. This will allow you to have plenty of time to rehearse and you can have a relaxing meal with your friends and family.
Need some ideas for alternate dinner locations? Keep reading!
Check With Your Reception Venue
Depending on your reception venue, you may be able to hold your rehearsal dinner there! This will depend on the venue and some may already have other events scheduled. If it is available, you can have your caterer provide a meal for everyone or place a catering or to-go order at your favorite restaurant.
Book A Party Room At Your Favorite Restaurant
Is there a restaurant you and your fiancé love to frequent? Or maybe a place that your family and friends love? This can be a great option! A lot of locations have larger rooms that you can reserve so you can still have a private place to eat and have fun!
Host A Dinner At Home
Maybe you or your family have a big dining room that will seat everyone. You can either make a meal yourself or order a catering or to-go order from a restaurant. This can also be perfect if it's during the warmer months, you can always move to a porch/patio and have drinks around a bon fire!
Consider A Food Truck
Some food trucks will let you rent them out for events and serve a set menu. You can have the food truck come to your house, a park, or somewhere else!
Think Outside Of The Box
Maybe you want to go to Dave & Busters for games, food, and drinks, go mini-golfing, do an escape room, or go golfing. All of these can be fun alternatives! Maybe there is a community space that is pretty awesome that you can rent out! Or maybe you have an awesome park nearby and can reserve a pavilion and have a picnic! (Side note: When Devin and I got married, this is what we did! We rented out a pavilion that is on an island at a park nearby and put a catering order in at a restaurant and they delivered it and set it up for us!) There are lots of ways you can eat, have fun, and celebrate with the ones you love!
