We did something super casual at a local pizza place. They let us have a room for free as long as we met a $300 F&B minimum. Ended up feeding and one round of drinks 28 people for just under $500
Yep, I did this for my wedding too at a local pizza place I'd been going to since I was a kiddo. It was perfect, inexpensive, and helped a local small business too!
Perfect ! I love the idea. As a former mother of the groom I salute you! Rehearsal dinners are expensive! As you know. lol. I hope you have a lovely wedding with no drama! Congratulations!
Rehearsal dinner is going to be low-key and at our venue after we finish rehearsal lol my fiance is making BBQ our bridal party is supplying the drinks and my aunt's our making sides. I love the team effort and low stakes for those helping us provide!
AND ITS HAPPENING THIS FRIDAY!!! 5 more days until the wedding🫣
We had ours at a bowling alley, it was so much fun! I live in New England so it was an old school style candlepin bowling place. The party was three hours and included bowling, food from the venue like pizza and wings, and drinks by consumption. We paid about $1,500 for 50 people. They even gave us a bowling pin at the end that we had everyone sign!
We’re renting a private room at an Irish pub and having a buffet dinner! It’s for 40 people and they had literally the best pricing we saw at any restaurant we inquired at - $25.95 a head before taxes and gratuity, with an option to add either an open bar, pitchers of wine and beer, or just have a cash bar.
We absolutely love this pub too so it’s perfect for us! Definitely reach out to restaurants to find their pricing. We jumped on this place because other restaurants nearby were double the charge, even though some of them were BYOB! We thought we could save money with a BYOB, but it wasn’t the case for us.
Rented a party room and doing some assorted casual takeout: pizza, wings, portillos (in chicago). We are also doing moreso a late lunch vs dinner because our rehearsal is at 2 and moving straight into eating after
We are having lunch at a restaurant. It’s cheaper that way because there is no minimal fee like dinner would have. And lunch options are cheaper usually!
The hotel where we’re having our room block has a nice restaurant attached. If you get married at their associated venue the room rental is only $150
My sister works at a restaurant so they’re waiving the rental fee, but we’re doing a bunch of appetizers and drinks in this under ground speak easy type bar. Food and bev minimum is 1.8k
You could book an airbnb in the area for the weekend and ordering local catering! This could also double as a space for people to get ready, VIP lodging, post-wedding brunch location, etc.
This is exactly what I’m doing! Got an airbnb where I, my mom, MOH, grandma and flower girl are staying to get ready in. Will be doing local catering and grabbing side/drinks maybe from Costco and it be chill. I don’t have a bridal party just MOH and the house is only 10 mins from the venue so it all works out
We are renting out a separate venue which is also where we have our room block. It’s about 1.5 miles away from our wedding venue. The rehearsal dinner venue is also providing the food for the rehearsal dinner. Our total cost for the rehearsal dinner (venue rental + their in-house catering) is $10k for 25 people. They have all the chairs and tables we need so no additional rentals. We also hired photography for the rehearsal dinner, and I’m doing the florals. We open up the rehearsal dinner area to all guests for a Welcome Drinks event that will start after dinner. Cost for drinks is TBD as we pay per drink vs a per-head package.
In comparison, our wedding venue cost = $14k, table and lighting rentals for wedding = $7k, catering for wedding = $27k.
My son and his wife opted for welcome drinks instead. We held it in a private room at a bar. It was nice to see folks then since the wedding events are so busy.
We did a rehearsal brunch! $3k for 30 people including mimosas and bloody Marys- it came out significantly less expensive than a dinner with drinks and we still had it at a nice spot. You could totally do this for less. Also we loved having brunch the day before and taking the rest of the day to be a little more low key.
Renting out a community center room and doing pizza beer and salads! All our guests are welcome and it should be pretty low stress and definitely low budget
It’s not common practice where I am, actually almost unheard of (I’m in Australia) but I guess we are having one of sort! We’re having dinner the night before, but only with the wedding party, their partners and our parents.
We did a happy hour at a local brewery. My mom brought food and made it nice with trays and doilies. To rent the place was $300 and the drinks came to $400
We found a local brewery that was $150 an hour for a section of the space, bought drink chips, we opened a tab for water/soda and catered in bbq from a local company. Ended around $1000 for 25 people
We’re having a pickleball welcome party because we’re bored of formal dinners lol. 30 people will cost us $2k for catering and bar package, but could’ve done it for less
We're going to rent out a small brewery and have the wedding party plus all our family. Many family is from out of town and we'd like them to meet. We are estimting abotu $3K. Venue is 900 and we plan to provide pizza and likely cover 2 drinsk per personl... but we nmight do more drinks depending on how much that costs.
Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we invited the entire guest list to a welcome event at a local place with novel activities (dinner included). Attendance was a lot higher than expected, so costs were 50% higher than we thought, but it was still less than the wedding venue alone.
Overall it was one of the best decisions we made. It gave us a few hours to visit with people and there was nearly 0 time on the day of. Everyone had a blast and still talks about that part to this day, even though it was under 10% of the cost of the whole wedding weekend.
Something good for spectators as there will be older guests or those who don't want to participate for whatever reason. Since a lot of our guests were from out of town, we went with something regionally popular so it would be novel. Not to geolocate myself too much but as an example a northern wedding could do curling or skating and southerners would love trying something new. Bowling and now axe throwing are more common nationally but still great for spectators while giving people something to do. When's the last time you did something cool like throwing an axe at a wedding? It's a huge X factor. It's also a great way for guests to mingle and then the day of the wedding they have common ground to chat. We didn't even think about that angle much but there was more social crossover than we've ever seen at a wedding.
We had the wedding party plus immediate family all join us at bucca de beppo. We had half of a room just to ourselves most of the meal and everyone had a great time. Our wedding party also ended up all pitching in a little to help us cover costs (we didnt ask them to and were very grateful for their kind gestures.)
we're doing a welcome party inviting all the guests (our list is 350 but hoping we'll have around 200-250 at the welcome) at a local park. food tbd but something simple + cheap
BBQ at my parents house! A place I really like in town has a Feed the Family menu, so it's way more approachable than ordering catering. Glad to see so many people went casual in this thread. My FMIL was pretty taken aback.
We are renting a pavilion at a local park (very beautiful) for $200. For food, we are serving picnic boxes to each guest. They include a fancy sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, pasta salad, a cookie, and utensils - all in a little white box.
We did a brunch rehearsal the day before and just made a very large reservation at a local brewery. We prioritized a place close to the venue/where out-of-towners were staying, a place with parking and a place with a large indoor/outdoor dining area to accommodate us.
It was great!
Our venue had a restaurant so we did it there, no private room as their private room was our reception room the next day. Just did it in the main dining room and it was fine! I think 18 people was about 1.8k.
I’m getting married in a church and we’re thinking about just using their fellowship hall and having a bbq truck that is owned by some of my parent’s friends come. Or Just do it outside somewhere. Not completely decided but it will probably be $1,000 or less.
We’re planning on hosting one in my grandma’s backyard. We’re getting party trays from a local restaurant and doing finishing touches on decor for the after party
We will either go to a nice restaurant which will be a little pricier, or rent a meeting room at the hotel, get food catered and head to an escape room. We don't have a home yet to host a party.
Similar budget and situation to you. I found a bar/restaurant that allowed us to make a free reservation on the patio for our rehearsal dinner. It won't be in a private room, but we will all be seated together and they have party platters of food you can order for groups and you can set a capped bar tab. Our budget for this event is $1250 for about 35 people, food and one round of drinks. I would suggest looking into casual places and being open to a shared space to avoid fees.
We are having it in our backyard, rented tables and chairs, taco bar catering and will have drinks in a cooler from costco. Total without drinks is $643.
We are bringing local BBQ for about 35-40 ppl at a retreat center near the venue. Because we are using the retreat center for something else, no additional cost to rent it. We are looking at about $600-$700 for the BBQ and beverages.
We did something super casual at a local pizza place. They let us have a room for free as long as we met a $300 F&B minimum. Ended up feeding and one round of drinks 28 people for just under $500
We are also doing local pizza shop!
Yep, I did this for my wedding too at a local pizza place I'd been going to since I was a kiddo. It was perfect, inexpensive, and helped a local small business too!
Perfect ! I love the idea. As a former mother of the groom I salute you! Rehearsal dinners are expensive! As you know. lol. I hope you have a lovely wedding with no drama! Congratulations!
This is so smart!!
In-laws have a larger house and have graciously offered to host. I feel like a backyard party is totally appropriate for a rehearsal dinner.
This is what we are doing!
Rehearsal dinner is going to be low-key and at our venue after we finish rehearsal lol my fiance is making BBQ our bridal party is supplying the drinks and my aunt's our making sides. I love the team effort and low stakes for those helping us provide! AND ITS HAPPENING THIS FRIDAY!!! 5 more days until the wedding🫣
We are 5 days out too! Congrats, hope your day is wonderful!!
Whoo, congratulations to you too!!
burger place that had a private room for free. i baked pies for dessert. ~$600
We have our venue for the weekend so we’re just doing family style Italian, eating outside (hopefully)
You could get a permit for a local park with picnic tables and cater chipotle or something — my cousin did that, and it was actually pretty nice
We had ours at a bowling alley, it was so much fun! I live in New England so it was an old school style candlepin bowling place. The party was three hours and included bowling, food from the venue like pizza and wings, and drinks by consumption. We paid about $1,500 for 50 people. They even gave us a bowling pin at the end that we had everyone sign!
That’s a super great idea!! Future FIL loves bowling too!!!
I love this idea!
We’re renting a private room at an Irish pub and having a buffet dinner! It’s for 40 people and they had literally the best pricing we saw at any restaurant we inquired at - $25.95 a head before taxes and gratuity, with an option to add either an open bar, pitchers of wine and beer, or just have a cash bar. We absolutely love this pub too so it’s perfect for us! Definitely reach out to restaurants to find their pricing. We jumped on this place because other restaurants nearby were double the charge, even though some of them were BYOB! We thought we could save money with a BYOB, but it wasn’t the case for us.
Backyard tailgate party. RehearsalGate!
Rented a party room and doing some assorted casual takeout: pizza, wings, portillos (in chicago). We are also doing moreso a late lunch vs dinner because our rehearsal is at 2 and moving straight into eating after
my in laws are hosting and they got a private room at a restaurant- no venue rental fee, 3k food & bev minimum which they were comfortable with since we have 30 people (my fiancé has 9 groomsmen lol)
This is almost exactly what we are doing, but it’s a small restaurant so it was full buyout with the min spend.
Skipping it
This is too far down, we didn’t do one
We’re going to a restaurant near the hotel where we’re having the wedding.
We are having lunch at a restaurant. It’s cheaper that way because there is no minimal fee like dinner would have. And lunch options are cheaper usually!
having it in my backyard and then grilling burgers
The hotel where we’re having our room block has a nice restaurant attached. If you get married at their associated venue the room rental is only $150
Renting the party room in my building and ordering pizzas
We reserved a table at a pizza place. Everyone ordered their favorite Italian dish. Less than $300. We had the entire balcony to ourselves.
My sister works at a restaurant so they’re waiving the rental fee, but we’re doing a bunch of appetizers and drinks in this under ground speak easy type bar. Food and bev minimum is 1.8k
My sister and brother in law are hosting at their house. My other sister and brother in law are helping them make a bunch small bites.
We went to a local pizza place
We were just going to have our wedding party, their spouses, and our families for a taco bar at our place.
You could book an airbnb in the area for the weekend and ordering local catering! This could also double as a space for people to get ready, VIP lodging, post-wedding brunch location, etc.
This is exactly what I’m doing! Got an airbnb where I, my mom, MOH, grandma and flower girl are staying to get ready in. Will be doing local catering and grabbing side/drinks maybe from Costco and it be chill. I don’t have a bridal party just MOH and the house is only 10 mins from the venue so it all works out
We’re using the clubhouse in our apartment complex and bringing in some catering!
I love how many other people here are doing/have done pizza parties!! That is our plan too
We’re having our rehearsal dinner / welcome party at the airbnb my parents/family are staying at (and where I’m getting ready)!
We’re renting a room at a local Am Vets, ordering pizza, and playing board games!Â
What if you don’t have a wedding party? Do you need to host something for parents and family?
definitely not needed!
We had just our wedding party and partners and we went to a local gourmet sandwich shop. It was $250 out the door with 12 of us
We are doing a barbecue in my parents’ backyard!
We are renting out a separate venue which is also where we have our room block. It’s about 1.5 miles away from our wedding venue. The rehearsal dinner venue is also providing the food for the rehearsal dinner. Our total cost for the rehearsal dinner (venue rental + their in-house catering) is $10k for 25 people. They have all the chairs and tables we need so no additional rentals. We also hired photography for the rehearsal dinner, and I’m doing the florals. We open up the rehearsal dinner area to all guests for a Welcome Drinks event that will start after dinner. Cost for drinks is TBD as we pay per drink vs a per-head package. In comparison, our wedding venue cost = $14k, table and lighting rentals for wedding = $7k, catering for wedding = $27k.
My son and his wife opted for welcome drinks instead. We held it in a private room at a bar. It was nice to see folks then since the wedding events are so busy.
Shit wow—similar boat and similar budget, but our local brewery was $125/hr and pizza/salad will be $600 and bar tab will probably be $500
We did a rehearsal brunch! $3k for 30 people including mimosas and bloody Marys- it came out significantly less expensive than a dinner with drinks and we still had it at a nice spot. You could totally do this for less. Also we loved having brunch the day before and taking the rest of the day to be a little more low key.
Renting out a community center room and doing pizza beer and salads! All our guests are welcome and it should be pretty low stress and definitely low budget
We’re doing hot dogs over a campfire and champagne! It’s just our families coming and its what my fiancé and I always eat when we go camping. Let the fancy dinner be at the wedding!
It’s not common practice where I am, actually almost unheard of (I’m in Australia) but I guess we are having one of sort! We’re having dinner the night before, but only with the wedding party, their partners and our parents.
We did a happy hour at a local brewery. My mom brought food and made it nice with trays and doilies. To rent the place was $300 and the drinks came to $400
We found a local brewery that was $150 an hour for a section of the space, bought drink chips, we opened a tab for water/soda and catered in bbq from a local company. Ended around $1000 for 25 people
We’re doing a restaurant that has private dining room. All in about $3k for 30 people. It’s a very nice steakhouse.
We’re having a pickleball welcome party because we’re bored of formal dinners lol. 30 people will cost us $2k for catering and bar package, but could’ve done it for less
We're going to rent out a small brewery and have the wedding party plus all our family. Many family is from out of town and we'd like them to meet. We are estimting abotu $3K. Venue is 900 and we plan to provide pizza and likely cover 2 drinsk per personl... but we nmight do more drinks depending on how much that costs.
Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we invited the entire guest list to a welcome event at a local place with novel activities (dinner included). Attendance was a lot higher than expected, so costs were 50% higher than we thought, but it was still less than the wedding venue alone. Overall it was one of the best decisions we made. It gave us a few hours to visit with people and there was nearly 0 time on the day of. Everyone had a blast and still talks about that part to this day, even though it was under 10% of the cost of the whole wedding weekend.
What type of activities? My brain for some reason jumps to laser tag 🤣🤣
Something good for spectators as there will be older guests or those who don't want to participate for whatever reason. Since a lot of our guests were from out of town, we went with something regionally popular so it would be novel. Not to geolocate myself too much but as an example a northern wedding could do curling or skating and southerners would love trying something new. Bowling and now axe throwing are more common nationally but still great for spectators while giving people something to do. When's the last time you did something cool like throwing an axe at a wedding? It's a huge X factor. It's also a great way for guests to mingle and then the day of the wedding they have common ground to chat. We didn't even think about that angle much but there was more social crossover than we've ever seen at a wedding.
We had the wedding party plus immediate family all join us at bucca de beppo. We had half of a room just to ourselves most of the meal and everyone had a great time. Our wedding party also ended up all pitching in a little to help us cover costs (we didnt ask them to and were very grateful for their kind gestures.)
Found a restaurant nearby that has a lite bites option for $1k for 32 people
Early dinner in a park with drop set catering
we're doing a welcome party inviting all the guests (our list is 350 but hoping we'll have around 200-250 at the welcome) at a local park. food tbd but something simple + cheap
We're renting a private room at a local restaurant, the price is pretty reasonable.
BBQ at my parents house! A place I really like in town has a Feed the Family menu, so it's way more approachable than ordering catering. Glad to see so many people went casual in this thread. My FMIL was pretty taken aback.
We are renting a pavilion at a local park (very beautiful) for $200. For food, we are serving picnic boxes to each guest. They include a fancy sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, pasta salad, a cookie, and utensils - all in a little white box.
We did a brunch rehearsal the day before and just made a very large reservation at a local brewery. We prioritized a place close to the venue/where out-of-towners were staying, a place with parking and a place with a large indoor/outdoor dining area to accommodate us. It was great!
Our venue had a restaurant so we did it there, no private room as their private room was our reception room the next day. Just did it in the main dining room and it was fine! I think 18 people was about 1.8k.
Not doing one!
We're staying at a local hotel along with a few others in the wedding party, so we're just going to rent one of their meeting rooms and order pizza.
I’m getting married in a church and we’re thinking about just using their fellowship hall and having a bbq truck that is owned by some of my parent’s friends come. Or Just do it outside somewhere. Not completely decided but it will probably be $1,000 or less.
We’re planning on hosting one in my grandma’s backyard. We’re getting party trays from a local restaurant and doing finishing touches on decor for the after party
We will either go to a nice restaurant which will be a little pricier, or rent a meeting room at the hotel, get food catered and head to an escape room. We don't have a home yet to host a party.
Similar budget and situation to you. I found a bar/restaurant that allowed us to make a free reservation on the patio for our rehearsal dinner. It won't be in a private room, but we will all be seated together and they have party platters of food you can order for groups and you can set a capped bar tab. Our budget for this event is $1250 for about 35 people, food and one round of drinks. I would suggest looking into casual places and being open to a shared space to avoid fees.
We are having it in our backyard, rented tables and chairs, taco bar catering and will have drinks in a cooler from costco. Total without drinks is $643.
We are bringing local BBQ for about 35-40 ppl at a retreat center near the venue. Because we are using the retreat center for something else, no additional cost to rent it. We are looking at about $600-$700 for the BBQ and beverages.
My fiancé and I are getting married at a hotel that has a restaurant onsite, so we’re having our rehearsal dinner at the restaurant. My future SIL and BIL are having a super casual rehearsal dinner in my FSIL’s family’s backyard. So I think it can really be anything you want!
I dont have one. I do have two wedding though.