Planning Your Wedding Menu

Rehearsal Dinner Planning Checklist

Step by simple step, here’s how to make this a night for both families to meet, mingle, and relax before the formality of the big day.

• Book the venue. Tradition says that the groom’s family hosts the rehearsal dinner, which may or may not be true in your case. Even if the groom’s parents are taking the reins, you still need to offer options and be available to weigh in. Don’t feel constrained to go the restaurant route. A clambake on a beach or a burger fest at a bowling alley could be more fun, more you, and even more memorable.
• Negotiate the costs and the menu. If your guest list will be long, consider having cocktails and hors d’oeuvres rather than a full meal—or look into a casual, less expensive venue, like a favorite pizza parlor.
• Enlist those you’d like to have give toasts. This will give them time to come up with a speech. Generally, the father of the groom, if he’s hosting the dinner, speaks first. Then the best man or a return toast from the bride’s father, followed by anyone else who wishes to give a toast. You and your husband-to-be may want to toast each other, welcome family and friends, and thank everyone for being there. (Of course, the toasts could also be spontaneous, with anyone speaking who cares to.)

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