My fiance and I would like to have our rehearsal dinner at Jiko since that's where we got engaged (we wanted to share that special experience with all of our friends and family), but there's a limit on how many people can go. They have a maximum of 40 people and we would be over that by maybe 5 people. So my questions are: Does anyone know if they can go over the 40 people limit? or if they can't is it wrong/tacky to ask my wedding party not to bring their dates? And who exactly comes to the dress rehearsal/ rehearsal dinner? Any input/advice on who attended/planning to invite to your dress rehearsal and rehearsal dinner would be great! TIA!!!
I'm not sure if they can go over 40 or not but honestly I think you should let your wedding party guests bring their dates. I personally would go with a less expensive restaurant in order to accomodate the bigger guest count before not inviting them. In non-destination weddings most people only invite the immediate family and wedding party to the rehersal dinner, after all they are there to rehearse. In destination weddings some people open the dinner up to everyone and have it as a sort of welcome dinner, but you really aren't obligated to. We're doing a VR so our plans are a bit different but here is what we have so far: We plan on doing a mini rehearsal with just H, the kids and I (we don't have a wedding party) and then we will meet everyone for a dessert party later that evening. We plan on sending out an RSVP card to the DP with our invites so we can get a general idea of who will be coming. ETA: our date is 3/24/12 so we'll be there around the same time as you!
If you want to have a rehearsal lunch instead, you can use the main restaurant in Jiko instead of the private rooms. You'll have it to yourself. According to Emily Post...here is who should come: The guest list at a rehearsal dinner should include the members of the wedding party and their spouses, fiancé(e)s, or live-in partners; the officiant and his or her spouse or partner; the parents, stepparents, and grandparents of the bride and groom; and any siblings of the bride and groom who are not in the wedding party. If single members of the wedding party were invited to bring a date to the wedding, then it's kind to include the date at the rehearsal dinner. Any children of the bride and groom from a previous marriage are invited, unless they are too young. Parents of young attendants, such as a flower girl or ring bearer, are also included. If you don't know your officiant personally, I'd say you don't need to invite them. I've never seen a DIS bride invite the officiant to the dinner, but I could be wrong.
