What are Rehearsal Dinner Invitations? Here’s What You Need To Know

Apart from having a bachelor’s party and bridal shower, another prenuptial event before the actual wedding day that couples should know and give importance to is the rehearsal dinner. 

Traditionally, wedding rehearsal dinners are done the day before the wedding and depending on the couple themselves. 

The wedding day itself can be stressful for the newly wed couple since there is a lot going on with having to follow a schedule of events which have been meticulously planned and arranged and making sure that the couple has enough time to give every guest in the wedding attention and thanks for coming. 

Wedding rehearsals used to be a formal event. Although recently, there are couples who have shown a preference in making this event a more of a lively fun carefree night, kind of like a party with a bigger guestlist. 

Wedding rehearsal dinners are usually an intimate gathering with a small number of people who matter most to the couple like their family members, closest relatives and friends. Especially some of the guests who are coming in from out of town or out of the country. On this night, they get to just focus on interacting and having a memorable lovely time with the people they cherish.

Planning Wedding Rehearsal Dinners

Compared to the wedding day, planning for the wedding rehearsal dinner shouldn’t be too hard or too complicated. There are a few simple significant things you should consider and these are the seating arrangements, the host of the event, the venue and theme, the menu, and the toasts and speeches. 

You must also keep in mind to create wedding rehearsal dinner invitations. Although you can simply send your wedding rehearsal dinner invitations online or through email, there is a wonderful sentimental factor in giving your guests physical invitations that they can keep with them.

Rustic Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations 

One of the most classic elegant themes for this event is going for the rustic design. 

Here are key factors you should know in creating and conceptualizing your rustic wedding rehearsal dinner invitations

Establish The Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Tone

Considering all of these factors. You need to establish the tone of your invitations whether you want it to be simple, casual, formal, romantic, or fun. This is important so you can decide on how to present your font texts, font colors, wording choices, and overall theme and design. 

Here are some common sample formats or you may follow or use as reference for introductions to your invitations. For a simple introduction, start with “ Join Us for a (Event Name) “. For a more romantic introduction, start with “ In a celebration of love you are invited to ( event name) “. For a fun introduction, you can use the theme of the menu or dinner in your clever wordplay like “ BBQ: Dinner Before the Big Q”, or “ Game Night with (couple name). “

Wording and Texts

With your invitations, it is important to finalize what will be written on them. For this you have the freedom to set your wedding rehearsal dinner wording as casual or as formal as you want. There are lots of templates that can be personalized but these are some important information that should be included  in the invitation: 

The couple’s name 

This may be in a bigger font right in the center of the invitation. It is usually just the first names of the couple to be wed rather than the full names. For example “ John and Kate “ or “ Sarah & Kate” can be written, giving the invitation a more personal touch.   

Event Name 

From simply stating “ Rehearsal Dinner” as the event name, you can incorporate clever wordings like “ Before the I Dos “ or “ The Night Before”. These could be the highlight text of your invitations rather than the names. If you have a theme for the rehearsal dinner, you could also make word puns about it on the title.

Venue Time and Date 

One must always include the address and exact time of where and when the event will take place. This is to make sure your guests will arrive on time and easily find their way to the venue.

RSVP confirmation 

It is crucial to have information in the invitation where the guests can send their confirmation if they are attending or not. Include texts like “ RSVP at (mobile number/email address).” 

By knowing who and how many of your guests will be attending, you can make adjustments with the seating arrangements, event budget, and even the itinerary.

The host’s name 

Rehearsal dinners are usually hosted by a close family member or friend of the couple. Here is also a good place to thank them for perhaps the venue or arranging the event.

Theme and Design

Now that you have your important information down and you have established the tone of your wedding rehearsal dinner, now is the time to present your theme so you can use this as the base of your overall design. Here are some classic themes that you can never go wrong with.

Outdoor Warm Lights on Nature or Wood Textures

For that beautiful, simple, and familiar look and feel, you can’t go wrong with a picture for illustration of  a dark brown wooden floor as the background and have warm outdoor yellow lights at the top or on the borders of the invitation. 

Having a highly detailed image of wood including its natural textural characteristics add an even more lifelike quality to it. This design depicts an intimate formal outdoor dinner at a nice fine dining restaurant. 

You may use  white or the same warm tone of the lights as the font color of your Dinner invitations. With this rustic and homey theme as your base you can easily customize it and add more details like illustrations of lanterns.

Floral and Nature Illustrations on Light or Pastel Colors

If you want to stray away from the typical brown wooden designs but still be able to depict nature in a more bright tone, why not have a plain white background or light pastel colored background like pink or blue or green and have illustrations of your favorite flowers as the highlight of your invitations. 

Burgundy or colored textured petals on a white background is as stunning. For a more breathtaking and personalized approach, why not hire an artist to create watercolor paintings of flowers or trees or leaves you can then use as your Dinner Invitations design.  

Undoubtedly unique and sentimental, this is something that you and your guests can keep and cherish for the rest of your lives. 

Fun Dinner Theme Based Design

To add a more fun and creative light hearted approach, you can use the dinner theme as the basis of the design. As an example, if you are planning to play board games and party games with your guests, why not include some iconic illustrations of dice cubes, monopoly pieces, domino pieces etc.?

You can use a white background then have a simple dark colored font color for your text and use bright fun colored paint for your illustrations. 

You can also incorporate the cuisine of your menu to the design. Having a French themed dinner? Why not include an artistic illustration of cheese, wine, and bread on a red checkerboard tablecloth or have the Eiffel Tower as the background.