Tips for Hosting the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
Hosting the rehearsal dinnerfor a wedding is a big responsibility and the bride and groom well expect you to make it a casual and relaxing event for them. In addition to choosing the right venue for the event you must also tie up any loose ends involving reservations, making sure there is enough food, and having the guest list sorted out. With the right amount of preparation and planning, the event can be scheduled easily and will be a nice break from hectic wedding preparations for the bride and groom.
The first thing you must do whenplanning a wedding rehearsal dinneris consult the bride and groom to ensure that their wishes are taken into account first and foremost. While the majority of the preparation is up to you they may wish to have a certain theme that corresponds with the wedding itself. It is usually recommended that a rehearsal dinner be held in a relaxed setting for there is no doubt that the members of the wedding party already have a lot going on. Once the setting and place for the dinner has been chosen be sure to reserve it at least six months in advance, this will ensure no last-minute problems with the booking. It is also a good idea to place a deposit on the location and arrange for the amount of food, seating, and floral arrangements ahead of time.
Thesite of the rehearsal dinnershould also be close to the site of the actual wedding. This will make things easier on the guests and ensure that they are not running around having to search for the site of the dinner when they may already be short on time. Also, keep the guest list small so that the arrangements can be made more easily as well as giving everyone there a chance to talk to one another and get to know each other. It is important that the rehearsal dinner be a casual and social event where everyone is made to feel like part of the family.
As host you should be at the dinner site before the guests start arriving, this way you can greet every person as they enter and show them to their seats if necessary. Members of the family may wish to sit together and a consultation with the bride and groom may be required to ascertain this information. If there is to be arranged seating, put place cards on the table so that everyone knows where they are sitting, this will spare confusion later. It is important to be cordial and friendly and celebrate the event with the entire wedding party so be sure that everyone has their needs taken care of as well as be sociable and thank everyone for their attendance.
