Rehearsal, weekend or night before?

EML333

I am totally confused about the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner...Would it be too much to do the day before the wedding? How much time do we need to actually "rehearse"? Do we need to be at the actual venue to "rehearse"? Who should be invited outside the wedding party and our parents? 

I was thinking about a casual lunch bbq for a rehearsal at my future in-laws' the day before the wedding so that my fiance's family can travel a day early to come to the party if they please and then go out with my fiance the night before the wedding while I, and who ever will go with me, go to the venue to decorate. Does this seem like a good idea?

hcorr34

For my wedding, and every wedding I've been in, the rehearsal has been the night before at the location of the ceremony.  If everyone in your wedding party is local, then it might be possible to do it the weekend before, but try to minimize the amount of time they need to set aside for all-things wedding.  The night before, in my circle/family, is pretty much the assumed "my wedding involvement begin now" time.

I highly recommend rehearsing, especially if you have a wedding party.  This way, you can go over logistics, where people will stand, walking in, etc., that would be challenging to do someplace else.  Two weddings that I've been in have had one wedding party member absent from the rehearsal and they definitely did not look comfortable the next day.  My officiant had us practice the parts that we'd repeat as well.  You never know how fast/slow you want yourself and the bridal party to walk down the aisle, and how long it will take you to walk the entire way, which is something else that would be tricky to practice at a spot other than where you're getting married.

If you already have an officiant, I would talk to them about rehearsal advice.

I don't think having something during the day sounds like a bad idea, but if it's a Friday, keep in mind that some people might not be able to get out of work that early.  We rehearsed at 4 (almost everyone in our WP was from out of state), had a BBQ at 5, and would have had plenty of time to decorate (luckily I didn't have to do that). 

As for who to invite, this can vary.  Definitely anyone involved in the wedding and their significant others, as well as immediate family.  Depending on the number of people and budget, some people invite all out of town guests.  I did NOT do that since most of our guests were from out of state.  I sent them physical invitations, separate from their wedding invite, to let them know the time/date/location.  Stupid me forgot to do an RSVP for it, so I didn't know until the night arrived that one of my readers wasn't attending.  (This reader also complained to another friend before/during the ceremony because she didn't know when to go and what to do since she didn't come to the rehearsal - the reply she got was "That's what the rehearsal is for" haha).