Who is invited to the rehearsal dinner?

We are hosting the rehearsal dinner. Who usually gets invited to the rehearsal dinner? Both sets of parents are divorced. Do we invite out of town guests too? It seems like there may be a lot of people that we will have to invite.


You're right, the list for the rehearsal dinner can become quite extensive depending on who is invited. All those who will directly take part in the wedding ceremony are invited to the rehearsal dinner. This would include: the bride and groom, the parents, the officiant, the wedding party (note: if children are in the wedding party, you must invite their parents too), and the readers (if there are any). You must also include their spouses or dates.

After that extensive list, there are other people you may want to invite. You may want, for instance, to invite grandparents and other family members, close friends, or out of town guests. Your rehearsal dinner budget will ultimately decide how long this guest list will become. Written invitations are not mandatory but you may want to have invitations if you are inviting more people than just the immediate group. Note: the invitations should be less formal than the wedding invitations and should be mailed out shortly after the wedding invitations have gone out.

Now, having said all that, you can host the rehearsal dinner in many different ways. Couples who are having a very formal wedding reception often opt for a more casual rehearsal dinner. If your home is large enough to accommodate all the invited guests, you are more than welcome to have the rehearsal dinner there! You can even decide on a theme that would best suit the engaged couple. Would an afternoon BBQ with games work for them? It would be a great way to start off the weekend especially if you can invite out of town guests as well. How about their favourite local restaurant or pub? The options, as you can see, are really quite limitless.