Rehearsal dinner OOT

mstoini

Our wedding will be in Fort Walton Beach, Florida (we're from Tennessee) and just about all of both of our families will come in from out of town.  Right now for the rehearsal dinner, it'll just be the MOH and date, BM and date and daughter, and Junior bridesmaid, flowergirl (FI daughter), and ring bearer.  Should I invite the junior bridesmaid and ring bearer's parents (they are brother and sister)?  

The reason this gets complicated is their dad is my brother who is married to another woman and has a son (3 additional people) and their mother also has another child (2 additional people) BUT my parents are actually the ones they may be staying with since they are very close to my mom and dad (2 additional).  I'm not sure who to invite but it seems to never end.

I have no problem watching the junior bridesmaid (11) and the ring bearer (9) without their parents or grandparents.  It just feels wrong not to invite everyone but don't want to bust the budget.  I have  feeling my parents will invite themselves though and then not sure what to do.

MairePoppy

I have never heard of a RD where the parents of the bride and groom weren't invited. You should invite, your parents, his parents, the wedding party and their s/os, the parents of any children in the wedding party and anyone else who will be at the rehearsal.

It would be fine to invite your brother and his present wife. Since they are coming in from out of town, you should probably include her son, too. It's not necessary to invite your brother's ex or her children, even though she is the mother of the children in the wedding party.

If you are concerned about the budget (who isn't?), then you could consider something casual, like pizza, rather than a sit down dinner. If you can manage without a rehearsal, then you won't need a RD, at all.

annmarie714

Never heard of not inviting your own parents to a RD.  They are a part of this celebration, even if they didn't contribute financially.  They raised you & your FI.  And unless it's a situation with strained relations, invite your siblings as well.  This includes their SOs & children.

I agree with Maire, if budget is a concern have a more casual RD.  Since you'll be at the beach, see if there's a neat beachside restaurant nearby that is cheap or have a "seaside picnic" with those Subway sandwich platters, chips, fruit salad, etc.  Then everyone can enjoy the ocean too!

mstoini

Yeah, I wasn't sure of the rules!

I'll invite my mom and dad,and  my brother and his family.  His mother also but don't think his dad is coming.  Just seems odd to not invite everyone!  That's what I'm really struggling with.

lenergyrlah

I would invite Jr. Bridesmaid, ring boy, and their parents.  This is 4 people.  I don't think you need to invite ring boy's step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, cousins, neighbors, etc.

If the parents are on good terms, it would be nice to invite their spouses as well.  I still don't think you need to invite the entire family though.  I probably won't invite my non-bridal-party family to the rehearsal or rehearsal dinner (I have 6 sisters, 4 are in my wedding and 2 are not) and I'm not even inviting my brother to the wedding (but that is a long story and an entirely different issue).