Rehearsal Dinner

[asunnysideup]

We had our rehearsal in the WP on a Saturday - we just had to be very flexible with times.

 

[sheri18]

I agree with the posts that they should just book a place for the rehearsal , no matter where it is...but being MOG I really have no say...I just wish I knew so that I could book the rehearsal dinner, considering just havin a welcome party like some have suggested, but then what happens after the rehearsal, do people just go on and do their own thing...won't that be weird.

 

[bigr3ddog]

I just wish I knew so that I could book the rehearsal dinner, considering just havin a welcome party like some have suggested, but then what happens after the rehearsal, do people just go on and do their own thing...won't that be weird.

Our welcome dinner is immediately after the rehearsal. We have invited all of our guests to the welcome dinner, but only the bridal party is at the rehearsal.

Rehearsal confirmations don't occur until 30 days before the event, so we made ressies for our welcome dinner far in advance (right at the 180-day mark). If you decide to change venues, you can always cancel the current ressie, but unless you're doing a private party, the closer to the prospective date, the fewer options available to book for large parties.

I suggest you book something now so you have something. Then if you need to fix it later, you can always do so.

 

[microgrl]

We had our rehearsal in the morning at sea breeze point (instead of the canada pavilion). Everything worked out great and I didn't feel unprepared even though we didn't rehearse at the venue.

Afterwards, my hubby and I had to drop our stuff off at Franks. Then he went and did some groom things while I went to a bridal shower tea and had my nails done with the ladies. The bridal party met up for dinner at Kona Cafe that evening. It wasn't necessarily your typical rehearsal/rehearsal dinner, but this wasn't an average wedding either.

 

[MonorailLove]

We had our rehearsal dinner at the T-Rex cafe about 3 weeks ago and it was very reasonable. We had about 40 people and although we picked the most expensive menu option (40.95pp), there was plenty of food and options. It was also a big hit with the kids. They have menus ranging from 25-45 per person.

 

[elphie101]

We did the same thing as bigr3ddog is doing - we had our rehearsal at 4:30pm at a ballroom at the Yacht Club and then had our welcome party at 5:30pm at Ariel's at Beach Club. Most of our guests beat us there because we lingered in the ballroom to do wedding party gifts but the bar was open so no one cared

 

[sheri18]

Our welcome dinner is immediately after the rehearsal. We have invited all of our guests to the welcome dinner, but only the bridal party is at the rehearsal.

Rehearsal confirmations don't occur until 30 days before the event, so we made ressies for our welcome dinner far in advance (right at the 180-day mark). If you decide to change venues, you can always cancel the current ressie, but unless you're doing a private party, the closer to the prospective date, the fewer options available to book for large parties.

I suggest you book something now so you have something. Then if you need to fix it later, you can always do so.

Even though i keep saying rehearsal dinner, I guess it really is a Welcoming Dinner as I too feel we should invite everyone who is attending wedding..but again, they have no idea of head count...so frustrating....:

 

[mb187143]

We did a rehearsal dinner for our bridal party and immediate family after our rehearsal, and then did an Epcot dessert party as a welcome event for all of our guests who were invited to the wedding. It made the logistics easier.

 

[sheri18]

We did the same thing as bigr3ddog is doing - we had our rehearsal at 4:30pm at a ballroom at the Yacht Club and then had our welcome party at 5:30pm at Ariel's at Beach Club. Most of our guests beat us there because we lingered in the ballroom to do wedding party gifts but the bar was open so no one cared

What type of food did you have..Buffett or order off a menu...that sounds like. That could work for us...

 

[elphie101]

What type of food did you have..Buffett or order off a menu...that sounds like. That could work for us...

We built our own buffet from the rehearsal dinner menus we were sent, plus the pasta we had to cut from our reception menu. Here's a screenshot of our BEO-

At the time we booked at least we just had to meet a $1800 minimum (I think the plated minimum is higher), though for all I know this could have changed since last May. We also had a full bar as bill-on-consumption; I can't comment on the final cost of the bar as my in-laws hosted the event.

I have a few photos of the event to give you an idea - we ended up having I believe 65-67 total (we had a lot of last minute cancellations)






You can see the bar in the back - Martha's Vineyard is directly outside to the right of the bar



There are far better venue photos on DFTW's website if you'd like a better idea of how the space looks, but I hope this helps you!