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Rehearsal Dinner Questions

Knottie1474013967Knottie1474013967 member
First Anniversary
in Budget Weddings Forum
Hello everyone! We are inviting 100 people to our wedding....90 of whom are from out of town. I have heard that you must invite out of town guests to the rehearsal dinner...but this seems insane. Is there any way I can shorten the list without being rude? Our wedding budget is pretty tight and I simply cannot afford to feed 90-100 people two nights in a row.

Please help! Thank you
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Re: Rehearsal Dinner Questions

  • greeninspringgreeninspring member
    5 Love Its First Comment First Answer Name Dropper
    You don't have to invite all out of town guests to the rehearsal dinner. You can choose just to invite your bridal party, their significant others, and immediate family. 
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  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    missfrodo said:
    greeninspring said:
    You don't have to invite all out of town guests to the rehearsal dinner. You can choose just to invite your bridal party, their significant others, and immediate family. 
    This.  Whoever told you all out of town guests must be invited to the rehearsal dinner was mistaken.  Only those who take part in the rehearsal, plus their SOs, must be invited to the rehearsal dinner.  If you're really strapped for cash, skip the rehearsal, and you don't need a dinner at all.  People can be told quickly before the ceremony where they need to go, so unless your ceremony is particularly complicated, it's not something you really need.  We didn't have one, and everything went fine (my parents did host a dinner for their visiting family the night before, but it's totally optional).  
    This.

    Only those involved in the rehearsal need to be invited to the dinner with their significant other. Couples usually also invite immediate family (parents, siblings, grandparents).

    Inviting OOT guests is a tradition, not a requirement. And it's a tradition from when there was less global travel- most people didn't live too far from where they grew up, thus there would be very few OOT guests.
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Ditto advice on invite list. Anyone required at the rehearsal + their SOs and immediate family + SOs. 

    Also though, you don't even need to have a rehearsal dinner if you aren't having a rehearsal. And you really don't need a rehearsal unless it's a complicated ceremony. 
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  • BrinkyDink16BrinkyDink16 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    That's mostly a regional tradition from what I understand.  We attended a wedding in Rhode Island and were not invited to the rehearsal dinner.  In fact, I would've been shocked and confused if we had been!  We only had a handful of out of town guests and we did not invite them to the rehearsal dinner.  It can be as big or small as you want.
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