We at 27 Miracles get asked a lot about the rehearsal dinner and who should come and how  to do it.  There seems to be a lot of stress focused around it. Here are some tips to help you destress about the whole rehearsal dinner planning. First of all the dinner should be fun and not as formal as your wedding.  remember this is a time for the two families if they have not had much interaction to get to know each other a little.

As far as who should be invited to the rehearsal dinner it is completely up to you.  But here is a rule of thumb, everyone that is participating in a job at the ceremony.  This would mean the officiant and his wife, parents on both sides, grandparents, the wedding party and their spouse and your wedding coordinators. Many ask if their photographer or videographer should be there and we say that if you have contracted your photographer and videographer for the two days to take pictures then yes they would be there.  But if you have not, then to ask the photographer and videographer to take pictures and video would not be appropriate as they would in essence be working at no cost to photograph an event.  Now if the wedding planner is coordinating and actually working at the rehearsal dinner that is an added expense unless it is something that was worked out beforehand with the wedding planner.  However if you are inviting him/her because you  worked with them and want to show appreciation to them by inviting them for a dinner, that is a nice gesture.  It allows the wedding planner to get to know the family before hand so that the next day they feel comfortable working with her at the wedding.

As far as locations for rehearsal dinners, your wedding planner can give you many suggestions so that you have a great event.  Here is a great website for rehearsal dinners that can give you some ideas.

http://www.rehearsaldinnerguide.com/

Until next time….Happy Wedding Planning!!