Two questions about 'Ohana rehearsal dinner

[DisneyDeeFL]

Sorry if this may have been answered in other posts, but my search isn't working right...

Ok question 1: For those of you who have had or are planning a rehearsal dinner at 'Ohana, how are the children's meals priced? Can they get something other than the standard 'Ohana meal, such as mac and cheese or chicken nuggets..and if so, how much is a meal like that? We have 2 flower girls, and they are very picky eaters!

Question 2: Since a rehearsal dinner is typically for the people who are actually IN the wedding, how do you handle inviting their dates or significant others? Should they be invited at all? And if not, how do you politely explain that? We have 4 groomsmen, all of whom *might* be bringing a date to the wedding...if they all bring dates to the rehearsal dinner, that adds up to a lot of $$$. Not sure of the etiquette on this...

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[CherCrazy]

I can answer part of question 1....yes, the kids can order other kids meals type of food.

question 2....boy is that a tough one. Having been an excluded guest many, many years ago, I can say feelings get very hurt. It's like people who are your friends, who you hang around with, double date with, etc. suddenly are not your friends because they shut the door right in your face. You get to know who really is your friend and who is not. It was a huge blow to me at the time. Really.

My late MIL did that also at the rehearsal dinner she gave for DH & me. I was absolutely mortified that she would not allow my own cousin to the dinner. My cousins wife, who is also my friend, was in the wedding. So my own blood relation was not invited. MIL's excuse: she was serving lobster. Big deal.

I'd say friendships are more important than putting on the Ritz. If you can't afford O'hana for everyone, you may want to consider something else.

 

[jmmastra]

I had my rehersal dinner at 'Ohana
The kids meals was 11.99 and they could order Chicken nuggets, Macaroni & cheese, Grilled cheese sandwich, PB & J sandwich, Hamburger, or Cheeseburger. All of the above served with French fries. (from wdwinfo.com)

Typically since the wedding invite was to friend/relative + guest, I would think the same would go for the rehersal dinner. Is everyone traveling for your wedding? If so, I would think inviting the date/significant others would be appropriate. Just my thought

 

[aprincess72]

Everything I have ever read says any out of town guests should also be invited to the rehearsal dinner.

 

[Skylarr29]

Etiquette says that their dates should be invited and included at the rehearsal dinner. It is isn't worth the $120 or so bucks to not include people and have hurt feelings.

 

[DisneyDeeFL]

Thanks everyone for your input. As for the rehearsal dinner, I think we'll extend an invite to the dates of anyone in the wedding party, but there's noooo way we can invite everyone from out of town to the rehearsal...since that would mean possibly up to 146 people ! I didn't know it was common to invite all guests to the rehearsal dinner...guess i'm behind on the times!

 

[jmmastra]

Thanks everyone for your input. As for the rehearsal dinner, I think we'll extend an invite to the dates of anyone in the wedding party, but there's noooo way we can invite everyone from out of town to the rehearsal...since that would mean possibly up to 146 people ! I didn't know it was common to invite all guests to the rehearsal dinner...guess i'm behind on the times!

I only had 30 people at my wedding. Not including the wedding party and their significant others, only 3 people were not part of that group. So it would have been rude to not extend the invite to all. 146 is a lot for a rehersal dinner, but I think you are doing the right thing by inviting the dates

Oh and to cut down on cost my MIL and SFIL paid for dinner. Everyone was responsible for their own alcoholic drinks.