So, pretty much any and all weddings I’ve seen/heard of featured a rehearsal, followed by a meal. Seriously, with my penchant for perfectionism, a rehearsal for the ceremony is absolutely essential. Practice makes perfect!
However, there is one little snafu with the plan.
Since Mr. Buttons and I are getting married on a Sunday, our rehearsal would (typically) take place on Saturday night. Except for the fact that another bride is getting married at my venue that evening. Insert conundrum…here.
Hmmm ok, so what are the options then? If we want a night-time rehearsal at the venue, we’d have to hold it on Friday night. Well, sadly, that just won’t do for us, seeing as our guests/family/etc might not be arriving until that evening. I wouldn’t want to be tied up with the rehearsal and miss welcoming them to our wedding weekend!
We also considered holding the rehearsal on Saturday evening, but at a different location. Potential? Yes. Cost? Not a fan! Most likely, we’d have to shell out extra money to rent out a space for the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner…it would be a very big party (around 60 people), and probably not easy on the checkbook! Scratch that…
That brings us to Saturday morning. The venue WILL allow us to hold our rehearsal during the morning/early afternoon, before they start setting up for the wedding that evening. Whew…breathing a sigh of relief here! However, that does present us with a somewhat “different” time schedule of events.
Rehearsal LUNCH, anyone?
As it stands, we’re going to hold a late morning rehearsal at Carlouel with the bridal party and immediate family. Now, what we are trying to decide between is having a lunch directly after our rehearsal, or to hold a dinner later in the evening.
So, of course...I made a list of pros and cons for each scenario.
Lunch:
- Pro - directly after rehearsal (aka convenient), it could be more casual, I would have a good amount of time afterwards to get ready for the following day
- Con - guests would maybe have to give up beach time to attend, holiday weekend at Clearwater beach = VERY busy at lunch spots, what would our guests do for the rest of the day/evening (would we have to plan/help to plan something for nighttime)?
- Pro - it is more "traditional," allows our guests to have time at the beach during the day (unless they are in the bridal party/attending the actual rehearsal), gives our guests something to do for the evening, I get to wear two cute outfits that day (haha...had to throw that in)
- Con - time lag between rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (Mr. Buttons' parents live 30 min away; would he and his family drive in to Clearwater 2 times that day?), potentially more expensive since it is dinner (and guests may consume more alcohol in comparison to lunch)
Personally, I am on team "rehearsal dinner" at the moment...it might be selfishness on my part, but I feel like I might go slightly insane if I have most of the afternoon and evening before the wedding day without an event scheduled. However, I'm sure I will have a to-do list a mile long that day...
Have you been to a wedding/did you have a wedding that held a rehearsal dinner at a different time than “normal?” What did/do you think about it? Would you be on team "lunch" or "dinner?"
We are planning a rehearsal lunch. It just makes more sense for us (more from a financial stand point than time restraints). We'll have those involved in the wedding rehearse/eat lunch together and then later that evening we'll have a casual get together with anyone who is already in town for some s'mores/bonfire on the beach. =) I'm pretty excited about this actually!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great idea - I haven't planned my rehearsal meal yet, but we might end up with a rehearsal lunch as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm in sort of the same boat as you...as far as not being able to have our rehearsal 2 days before the wedding since guests and party members will be arriving that day. Lucky for us, our wedding is on a Friday, so we will have our rehearsal at 3 pm on Thursday and then dinner at a restaurant about 30 minutes away at 5 pm on Thursday night. Works out good for me as I don't want a late night out since I'll be up at 6 am on wedding day and at our venue at 8 am beginning hair and makeup with all my lovely bridesmaids. But for the unfortunate bride who has her wedding on Saturday that weekend, she won't be able to have her rehearsal on Friday since we'll have the place the whole day! And I already booked our Thursday rehearsal like 4 months ago and the wedding is still 5 months away :) I didn't want some other bride messing with my plans. :) You are smart to do what you are and I think it sounds like it will work out perfect for your plans.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same issue due to having the wedding on Sunday. Waiting to figure out what the venue will allow in terms of a rehearsal. I think a rehearsal lunch is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteMy friend just did this for her wedding, only her rehearsal was Friday morning with a luncheon right afterwards...I wasn't in attendance but everyone said it was great, so go for it!
ReplyDeleteI think that a rehearsal lunch is a GREAT solution! We were nearly in that boat too...our wedding was on a Saturday, but the venue almost rented out our hall for Friday night...I was in a panic, let me tell you!
ReplyDeleteMy mom recently attended a wedding where the rehearsal was a brunch the morning of the wedding, and then the wedding was held that evening and she said it was fine. I think that your plan is great!
To me this sounds even BETTER (since it's a Sat, you don't haev to worry about most guests working like us Fri RD gals do) and it would be great to pre-designate a bar or night place that you'll be so guests can gather there if they like- but you won't have to pay!
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