Let’s talk about planning the perfect rehearsal dinner that fits your style and helps make your wedding day flow smoothly. Over the last decade of creating cakes for weddings in the Texas Hill Country, Austin and Dripping Springs areas, I’ve seen thousands of weddings and been involved in many rehearsal dinners as well. As you start planning for your big day, don’t forget about the many smaller celebrations leading up to your wedding. One of the most important is the rehearsal dinner. This is where you’ll rehearse your wedding ceremony, and then celebrate with your closest family and friends before the wedding.
How to Plan Your Perfect Rehearsal
The first step in planning a rehearsal dinner is to determine the guest list. Typically, the guest list includes immediate family members, wedding party members, close friends, and out-of-town guests. Will it be a small, intimate affair, or do you have a lot of out of town guests you’d like to include? Make sure to send out invitations well in advance to give guests enough time to RSVP. Cute themed invitations help make the occasion even more special and exciting for your guests!
Traditionally, the rehearsal is a walk-through of the ceremony at the actual ceremony site so that all members of the families and wedding party will know their roles in the wedding ceremony and work out any last-minute adjustments to help make the actual ceremony flow flawlessly. Some wedding venues even include rehearsal time in their packages.
In the recent past, it has become more difficult to have the rehearsal at the wedding venue, as many venues are booked for another wedding or event the day before the wedding. In that case, the practice may be done at another location that has enough space to mimic the actual ceremony site. The actual rehearsal can even be on a different day to have access to the wedding venue, and the dinner held the night before the wedding at another venue.
Next, choose your venue for your rehearsal dinner.
First, you’ll want to decide the ‘vibe’ you want for your rehearsal dinner. Do you want it to complement or maybe contrast with the theme of the wedding? Choose a venue that works with the ambiance you want, or one that is so versatile it can be anything you’d like with simple décor accents.
In Austin, Dripping Springs, and the Hill Country, there’s an abundance of fun and funky restaurants, breweries, distilleries and wineries that are popular rehearsal dinner choices. The drawback to many of these venues is they are not private, which can make them crowded, noisy, and cause difficulty finding parking. Downtown Austin venues often have no parking at all. Also many of them are not climate-controlled, and with the Texas weather being so unpredictable–and often very uncomfortable with the typical heat and strong winds for most of the year–as well as sudden thunderstorms which can even bring lightning, hail and tornadoes. Carefully considering a weather plan is mandatory!
A true private, climate-controlled, affordable rehearsal dinner venue with free, adequate parking, is rare in the Austin, Dripping Springs and Hill Country areas. That’s one major reason I wanted to design a venue that was perfect for the rehearsal dinners, showers, and other events leading up to weddings that eliminated the drawbacks associated with the public venues. I saw so many of my former wedding cake clients and favorite wedding planners struggling to find affordable, versatile, well-designed venues for the smaller events. Thus the idea for Rose Haven was born, and it took me over three years to find the perfect venue for these types of events.
Choose Your Cuisine
Most couples want the cuisine at the rehearsal dinner to be different from the menu of the wedding, to allow the wedding catering to shine on its own with no redundancy.
Is your wedding going to be a fancy plated dinner? Maybe you want to have a true Texas Barbecue in contrast. Or are you going with traditional barbecue at the wedding? Maybe consider Italian, Mediterranean, or Asian cuisine for the rehearsal dinner. Is the budget tight and you’re looking for an affordable option? Some of the most cost-effective catering options are fajita bars, pasta bars, pizza, and spaghetti.
Consider a theme and match the cuisine to it:
Having a fiesta? Tacos would be perfect.
Hawaiian luau? Make it a tropical treat!
Nautical theme? Seafood is the natural catch.
Mardi Gras? Cajun would be perfect, I GAR-ON-TEE!
Love to Travel? Around the world samplings of ethnic cuisines
Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Omelet stations, French toast, waffles……
Bridgerton? Let’s have afternoon tea, or a feast fit for a king!
Lord of the Rings? “Meat’s back on the menu, boys!” (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
Will your venue allow family to bring in their own food? At Rose Haven, one of our couples’ theme for their rehearsal dinner is ‘Family Recipes’. They are asking each guest to bring a homemade dish of their favorite recipe and to gift a written recipe of that dish to the couple, who will compile a cookbook of family recipes for them to cherish forever. I LOVE that idea!
Many restaurant locations have mandatory food and beverage minimums, and lock you in to one type of cuisine. That’s great if it’s your favorite restaurant anyway! But if your favorite restaurant doesn’t have an ideal space, another alternative is to have them cater the meal at another venue that has an open vendor policy for catering, like Rose Haven does. This can be more affordable than dining at the actual restaurant as well. Look for a private venue that will allow you to cater in any cuisine you would like. Don’t forget to consider any dietary restrictions or preferences when selecting the menu for the evening!
A big consideration is the beverage package. Bar tabs can add up quickly, and minimums are commonplace at most venues. Many couples are looking for venues where they can BYOB to help control costs, and that can be very difficult to find. Also, please be considerate of your guests that avoid alcohol (as well as any underage guests). Offer ‘mocktails’ or other popular non-alcoholic selections so that they have plenty of choices as well. Water and iced tea are a must! Rose Haven allows BYOB and also has an in house bartending partner, Peak Beverage, who provides outstanding service at very reasonable pricing, and awesome mocktails too.
Next, plan the details of the rehearsal dinner.
When it comes to decorations and ambiance, how do you want it to feel and look? You can use floral arrangements, candles, string lights, or personalized signage to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Balloon sculptures are wildly popular and create big impact at cost-effective pricing. Consider incorporating elements from your wedding theme into the decor to tie everything together seamlessly and save money by repurposing decor.
Entertainment is also an important aspect of planning your perfect rehearsal dinner. This is the time to have some fun, as the rehearsal dinner is meant to be relaxed and enjoyable for everyone involved. You can hire live musicians or DJs for energy and engagement, or curate your own playlist for the perfect background music.
There will likely be lots of toasts and speeches, so be sure you have an adequate sound system and microphone so everyone hears and enjoys every word. Consider the acoustics of your venue and the ambient noise you may have to overcome if in a public venue. Rose Haven was formerly a historical Texas dancehall that featured many types of bands and performers, so we have an acoustical ceiling that enhances both speeches and the music!
Ideas for an Epic Rehearsal Dinner
Definitely plan some fun activities like games or photo booths to keep guests engaged throughout the evening. Think outside the box, like maybe having a karaoke night after dinner, arcade games, a cornhole tournament, bouncy house for the kids (and big kids), lawn games, trivia and more! Make sure your venue has enough space and privacy to accommodate your ideas. Choosing a venue with both climate-controlled and outside spaces makes it much easier to plan epic activities.
A slideshow of the couple and their friends and family is always a big hit, and can be playing on a continuous loop during dinner. This brings many smiles, laughter, and memories. And it’s a great way to honor those who are no longer with you. Check to see if the venue has available TVs or screens you can access.
Another idea is to have a fun, themed, Food-Network-worthy cake at the rehearsal dinner instead of the wedding. You’re paying for some kind of dessert anyway, so that budget could be reallocated to an ‘impact’ cake that also doubles as a décor centerpiece, plus it frees up some of the wedding day budget. ALL of your guests watch and enjoy the cake TV shows, so it’s often the biggest hit of an event that guests talk about for years to come!
One of our recent rehearsal dinners used a wild, lit-up limousine service from Limos On Demand for the bride, groom, and wedding party to go out after the dinner for more time on the town! It was so crazy cool and different!
RELAX and have fun!
Rehearsal dinners are a great opportunity to have a blast and work out some of those pre-wedding jitters. Planning the perfect rehearsal dinner doesn’t have to add more stress to your wedding planning. If you have a wedding planner, they will help you plan the rehearsal dinner as well. Look to your venue for help in planning. Lean on their preferred vendor lists and trust their expertise. Your vendors want you to be ecstatically happy with their services, and to help you create memories to last a lifetime!
Here is a list of locally owned wedding venues around the country! We are dedicated to supporting small owned wedding venues, so in every blog we write we will celebrate at least 5 locally owned wedding venues.
- Home | Event Venue Springfield Illinois (polebarnchic.com)
- La Joya Dulce: Colorado Ranch Wedding Venue
- Madison Green Country Club – Madison Green Country Club West Palm Beach Country Club Event Space
- Home – Rose Haven Venue
- Www.thebarnattwiggys.com
About Me & Contact info
I created amazing cakes in Austin, Dripping Springs and the Texas Hill Country for over 10 years. But I recently retired from cakes and am now passionately working on my new venture–the most unique and charming event venue in Central Texas, Rose Haven Event Venue!
