THE BEST TIPS TO PLAN A REHEARSAL FOR YOUR WEDDING
As your wedding day quickly approaches, it’s time to start planning your rehearsal!
Ceremony rehearsal and dinner allow everyone a chance to practice and ease any nerves before your wedding day. Hosting a rehearsal dinner is also a great way for all of your closest friends and family to meet and unwind before your big day!
As an experienced wedding planner, here are my best tips to plan your rehearsal and dinner:
Planning the Details:
Decide Who Will Host
Traditionally, the groom’s parents hosted the rehearsal dinner. Now, it’s more common for the couple to host dinner or drinks before or after the rehearsal.
2. Pick The Date
Pick the date you’d like to hold your rehearsal dinner. Ideally, the night before your wedding is best. Your rehearsal can be a little pre-wedding celebration to calm your nerves! If you wish to have a relaxing day prior to your “I dos”, think about hosting 1 to 2 nights prior to ensure you have time to wrap up any final details before the big day.
3. Use Your Ceremony Space
Ask your venue to use your actual ceremony space to practice your rehearsal in. It will help everyone feel comfortable and excited for the big day! If your ceremony space isn’t available, consider hosting in a backyard or a local park. Having a wedding planner like Lindsay Plank Events will allow for a smooth rehearsal even when you’re not able to use the physical space prior. I’ll be there to help guide your wedding party and family to ensure everyone is comfortable and ready for the real deal!
4. Think About Timing
Your rehearsal will take about half an hour to 45 minutes. Depending on your pre and post-rehearsal plans, you’ll want to accommodate up to an hour being on-site incase your venue, officiant or wedding planner has anything final details to review with you before the big day. Lastly, keep in mind your travel time to get to your rehearsal dinner location, after rehearsing the ceremony walk through.
5. Location is Everything
Book a nice restaurant or brewery close to your ceremony space or the hotel guests are staying at. Enjoy some great food and drinks to unwind before a busy weekend ahead!
Who is invited to a wedding rehearsal?
When you’re planning your rehearsal dinner, think about the people you most want and need to attend.
Although often overlooked, ask your officiant and wedding planner to attend your rehearsal! PS - when working with LPE, your ceremony rehearsal coverage is included with your secured service. This ensures everyone is on the same page for the official ceremony.
Anyone who walks down the aisle should be invited to the rehearsal! This includes your wedding party, parents, and/or grandparents, along with readers taking part in your ceremony.
Make sure to give attendees a clear invitation with the correct date, time, location, and attire for the rehearsal. Invite everyone about two months before the rehearsal/wedding date to ensure all attendees book appropriate travel and accommodations.
During The Rehearsal:
Think about the order that you want everyone to walk in:
Do you want the wedding party to enter together in pairs? Who do you want walking down the aisle together?
Do you have a flower girl or ring bearer?
Are there any VIP family members that need to be escorted to their seats?
Do you want to walk in with just one parent, or both?
Who will be sitting in the first few rows? How many rows will need to be reserved?
Keep in mind, there’s no wrong decisions here. Every detail is up to your personal preference! If you’re hosting in a church or other religious venue however, they may have a set order to follow.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Run through the ceremony at least twice. It helps everyone remember the motions even with nerves on the day-of!
Bring the music you’re using for the actual ceremony to the rehearsal so everyone can practice. Make sure you have a speaker to be able to hear the music properly!
Add Any Reminders
Tell everyone about any last minute details they’ll need to know for the big day! This is a great time to set expectations about the itinerary and remind family and wedding party about photo times/locations.
Save Time for Speeches
Consider having speeches at the rehearsal instead of at your reception! This cuts down on having several lengthy speeches as everyone eagerly waits to hit the dance floor. Even having one or two speeches during your rehearsal will save time while still being appreciated by the couple.
Give Your Wedding Party Gifts
The rehearsal dinner is the perfect time to give your wedding party gifts! You can also take the time to give a quick speech to share your love and appreciation for your wedding party.
Get Plenty of Rest
While it may sound simple, I tell most of my couples this in the week leading up to the wedding day.
Prioritise 7-8 hours of sleep per night. And take a night or two to do anything but talk about the wedding. Allow your mind to take a break from thinking about what’s coming up.
If you’re looking to create the wedding day of your dreams in the Niagara region and beyond, get in touch!
Not sure if you need a wedding planner or event management for your special day? Here’s a helpful blog post for you!
