Q.
My fiance and I just bought a house and have our hands full paying for that and the wedding; thus, we can't afford to have a rehearsal dinner too. Neither of us has parents, so asking for financial help is not an option. My sister suggested we have a gathering of the wedding party and family, but with the understanding that they have to pay for their own meal, but that seems tacky. What should I do?
A.
It's not really appropriate to ask guests to pay for the rehearsal dinner, the reason being that the wedding party is required to attend the rehearsal; it is not an optional event that they can bow out of if they cannot afford the dinner. For this reason, you really can't expect them to pay for their own meal. You do have options, however. Think about hosting a rehearsal dinner only for those in the wedding party, which should keep it pretty small. You can cut food costs by throwing a casual and inexpensive pizza dinner or a barbeque in your (or a family member's) backyard. You could even have a pot-luck rehearsal dinner, and ask that each guest bring a dish. This way people can bring what they can afford, and you can still have a nice little pre-wedding get together.
See More: Rehearsals + Brunches , Rehearsal Dinner
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lilcassers
My friend just had the bridal party and parents over for pizza at her and her husband new house. It was really informal and I thought it would be cheesy, but actually it was alot of fun! We all hung out, had pizza and some drinks and listended to music! Remember, it's all about the love of your family and friends-- not how much you spend and where you go to eat.
KAYLEIGH32471
We have a small budget as well (around $5000). I was thinking of having the people in the wedding party and our parents over to our place afterwards for dinner. A nice pot of chicken cacciatore and rice will not break our budget and can be in the slow cooker while we are gone. Since we are paying for almost everything ourselves, we know our wedding party will completely understand why the dinner is not at a high priced fancy restaurant.
bhskittykatt
We have a very tight budget for our wedding (around $3000). We're planning on having an informal pizza party for our rehearsal dinner. It's a fairly casual wedding, so we can get away with the casual rehearsal.
girlygirl0725
This is the option we're are having to go with. With such a small budget (around $7000) things are tight! We're only having our parents and bridal party. But that is still around 15-20 people. I've been really searching trying to find great recipes that are inexpensive to make ao it will still look like we spent a lot of time & $$ but not having it break the bank!