Who do I invite to the rehearsal dinner?

I see the question of, “Who do I invite to the rehearsal?” very often. The sort answer is, your family, bridal party, the officiant, and out-of -town guests. But as we all know, nothing in wedding planning is that cut and dry. There are budgets to consider, after all. Here’s a little break down with budget saving suggestions I hope you find useful.

Honor the greatest distances. If you’ve had people coming thousands of miles to see you get married, invite them to the rehearsal. If they only had to drive a couple of hours to reach your venue, you can skip their invitation. But still make sure to honor all guests who traveled. Leave goodie bags at the hotel with list of things to do close by and a note of thanks.

If your families are huge and inviting all of them would be like having a second wedding, just invite the closest family–your grandparents, your parent’s siblings, and first cousin you actually speak with regularly -and of course, any relative who traveled a great distance.

If you have mostly out–of -town guest who have to fly in order to attend your wedding (a very common situation in the D.C. area), consider having either a drink reception the night before the wedding or a breakfast reception the day after. These can be done at the hotel where the majority of guest rooms are booked and you don’t have to pay! Just tell guest, “We’ll be here at this time and would love if you came by to say hello.” They will really appreciate the chance to spend extra time with you.

If you’re wedding is during the warmer months, you could also either rent picnic space or use your own backyard (if you have the space) and hire a food truck. There’s no reason the rehearsal dinner has to be at a restaurant and pricey! Have some lawn games and have a good time with your guests! You could even do this for a lunch option, inviting guest to come and go as they please for a couple of hours, then have a more intimate official rehearsal dinner later with just immediate family, bridal party, and officiant.

Whatever you choose to do, don’t over look your out-of-town guests. Hosting a wedding is very expensive, but sometimes, so is attending it. Make sure your guests know their efforts to be present on this very special day is recognized and appreciated.