- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Rehearsal dinners are casual and inexpensive by default so don't feel like you can't afford one. Pizza and sodas is a common rehearsal dinner option. Chinese or Mexican food are other options that are inexpensive. Most places have private banquet rooms you can rent. What foods do you like?
We had ours at a local BBQ place and set up a buffet with them. With the bar tab it was about $800 for 35 people (I think we had planned on 40 but had a few who couldn't make it). If you cut the bar tab, it would have been about $500 for a buffet with 2 meat options, veggie option, 2 sides, bread, and a non alcoholic beverage in a private room.
We are doing a morning rehearsal followed by a rehearsal lunch. I am not sure if this is an option for you but my venue required us to do one in the morning or we couldn't do one at all and this dropped the cost of the lunch so much. Then we have all afternoon and evening to just hang out and have fun with everyone.
Another idea we had was to do a BBQ or crawfish boil at the house with everyone.
Yup - rehearsal dinners are definitely more casual so there are lots of options. I think that Mexican can be the best to match your budget - you can even have them set up a buffet, in a private room, for 2-hours or so. We are doing a chinese banquet dinner (we are asian) and each table seats 10 and it costs per table.
Is your place big enough to have it at your house? Get take out from some place. Also check with your favorite restaurant in town..maybe they can cut you a deal on catering or a cut on a room rental (if they have one) Then you can get a limited amount of wine/beer/etc.
Don't stress about the rehearsal dinner.
Italian, Mexican, and BBQ are your best bets. You can get it to go and have a backyard affair or at the house (as stated above). Make it a blue jean affair so everyone can relax.
i had mine at Bucca Di Peppo. it's a family chain italian restaurant good for any kind of celebrations. we had 15 people but ordered enough for 30 (i under-estimated their plate portion..) and paid less than $450 including tips.
My place isn't quite big enough. We can have it at our church, or a nearby restaurant. Mexican is a good idea though- we both love Mexican food. I think I mostly wish I didn't have to plan it. It might turn into Pizza by default because that is easy.
Thanks for the ideas!
We were thinking of doing it at a local state park and doing a bbq with chicken, potato salad and having a couple CLOSE family friends get it altogether for us while we are doing the rehearsal.
The park took a $100 rental fee to use the pavilion and picnic tables. It is a good option if the weather would hold out for you.
@afuturemrsl: That's a great idea! My husband had the first part (cookout) of his bachelor party at a local city park pavillion that rents out for free if you make a reservation 10 days in advance.
We kept our rehearsal dinner super casual, and it was LOTS of fun! We had ours at a restaurant called Hodaks (a "family" restaurant). For buffet, drinks, and private banquet room for about 70 people, we paid $850(ish).
You could do a catered dinner at the church you are having your rehearsal dinner at, or find a restaurant with a cheap privatae room.
To find ours, I searched "private banquet rooms in (city)". Once I found a list of restaurants that have private banquet rooms, I went through the list, called all of them and asked their prices. We ended up going with the one we chose because of the meaning the restaurant has to our family, and the price was right.
If you're willing to do some work to find your place, you'll definitely be able to find one in your price range. Good luck!
I went to one where the bride and groom just had make your own sandwiches and a big ice cream sundae buffet.
The sandwiches weren't just like, bologna--there were marinated peppers and fancy cheese and all kinds of spreads (some of which the bride made). They hooked up their (new--it was a wedding gift!) panini maker for guests to use as well.
Seriously, it was one of the best I'd been to!
If you want a place that feels upscale, tastes fairly upscale, but isn't horribly expensive, try Houlihan's. I absolutely adore that restaurant! They decor is made to make it seem like a fancy place, but it is definitely a family restaurant. I would reserve a room or a section is possible.
@Stacia2242: Oh Hodaks. The STL fried chicken staple everyone seems to adore.
@In the media: Funny, isn't it! We love that place! : )
We are doing it at a BBQ place. We're getting Brisket, Pulled and chopped pork, pork ribs and chicken along with beans, coleslaw, and potatoes for like $10/pp. We will be using their beer so we're not sure what that tab will be but are supplying our own wine at $4/bottle
We had 18 people to our house and brought in a Deli tray. It cost $250 total including a cake for dessert. It was SOO nice having something low-key before the craziness of the wedding day!
We want to have ours at Tijuana Flats - a fun, low-key Mexican place that is more fun than anything (it has a hot sauce bar) and is BYOB. It's also kind of cool b/c we are thinking about honeymooning in Cabo.
I think that if you cannot have it at someone's house (a great idea!) or a park (depending on weather) think/research of cheaper places or "holes in the wall" that could work. Local foodie blogs could help w/ that.
We plan to do ours like JennyW1 went to. We have a friend who's made a monster grill (he's so proud), so we'll be grilling burgers, hot dogs, steak and some chicken, and also having a cold meat sandwich variety as well. Very casual, since it's probably going to end up being a pretty big gathering by the time BP, spouses/dates, family, and OOT guests join the fun.
Does anyone know of an inexpensive (<$1500) space in Seattle, WA for a rehearsal dinner? (We have 40 - 45, though I'm going to try to see if we can cut that list down.)
Do you have to invite ALL adult out-of-towners to RD's??
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 52 |
| Brielle | 39 |
| mypinkshoes | 32 |
| AshleyR83 | 30 |
| rebwana | 26 |
| funkymunky85 | 26 |
| Cady | 26 |
| fivemonthsnotice | 26 |
| fishbone | 26 |
| his chippymunk | 25 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
 CassidyR |
3 |
| Louise071312 | 3 |
| Lindsay12.31.2010 | 2 |
| chasesgirl | 2 |
| LRCWedding | 2 |
| vttp926 | 1 |
| ella86 | 1 |
| jo.lee | 1 |
| KristenGotMarried | 1 |
| TheLionQueen | 1 |
Hello,
FH and I need to come up with a rehearsal dinner for at least 30 people. Anyone have ideas? Maximum budget is 500, but if we could do it for less that would be great.
Thanks!