Rehearsal Dinner help

[bspears88]

Can anyone help me with possible rehearsal dinner ideas? Do most brides go through Disney or branch out on their own? Any experiences with both would be helpful to hear about.

Also, has anyone made the guest pay for their own meal? I would absolutely hate to do that, but there is a chance that it may not fit in our budget. If some of you have, where have you been?

I have seen a lot of brides go to Ohana’s for their rehearsal dinner and that they need reservations, now do they foot the bill for here usually?

 

[lurkyloo]

I would say that many brides here who plan a rehearsal dinner do pay for it, whether it's a catered event arranged through Disney (like a dessert party or a meal in Epcot during IllumiNations) or just a reservation at a restaurant (as you noticed, Ohana is extremely popular for this).

If you can't afford dinner, you might consider holding an alternative event that costs less or nothing at all. We just couldn't fit a rehearsal dinner into the budget, so we had a "No Pressure, Come If You Want To" meet 'n' greet in one of the public rooms at the Beach Club from 4-6pm (a time when no one would expect a meal). After everyone met, they made their own arrangements to go out to eat together if they wanted to.

Our rehearsal didn't involve very many people and took place very early in the morning, so afterward we told them where we'd be having breakfast and invited them to join us if they wanted to. Again, no pressure means no obligation to foot the bill (or to go at all if a guest doesn't want to pay their own way).