Are you supposed to invite OOTG's to the rehearsal dinner?

chattychiqa

FI and I went to a wedding a couple years ago in another state, we were invited to their RD.  I thought it was a nice gesture, but aren't sure if it's something that's expected vs. a thoughtful inclusion.

His parents have graciously offered to pay for the RD, so I'm trying to be considerate of their generosity and keep costs down.  We're doing it at their family's go-to Mexican restaurant.  My dad's inviting 10 families from where he's from (TX) and only expects 3-5 families to attend. 

I feel bad, like I don't want to seem like I'm trying to take advantage of MIL/FIL....in addition to being perplexed about what role OOTG's play in plans.

(we aren't having anything for the day after, which I hear is common)

dumdumfroggie

It is not required, but is certainly a nice gesture.

Ash61612

I would talk to your FIL's and see what they are comfortable with. If you want to invite OOTG to the RD and they are fine with it, then its a nice gesture.

We have a couple wedding guests and family members who are coming into town the day before the wedding and they will be invited to the RD.

achiduck

We are, but there's only 4 of them so it's not a huge extra for us.

If your MIL is comfortable with the added cost, then go for it.

specialk84

We invited out of state family to our RD, which was entirely my family. H's family is all local-ish (within an hour), so he just invited his siblings and their kids and spouses. 

My parents paid.

Avion22

There is another post on more or less the exact same topic about halfway down the page.

Maggie0829

Definitely not a requirement.  For our wedding my ILs asked who we wanted to invite and I told them just immediate family and the people within the wedding party.  They would have been happy to host more but I thought it would have been a little over kill.  My sisters wedding, her ILs had about 60 people at the RD (family, friends and OOTG).  In the end it is your preference, but certainly not something that is necessary.

Kate61487

Nice gesture, not necessary.

Our RD guest list was at 50 people just with the must-haves (WP, readers, SOs/parents, and immediate family) so we opted not to. 

rebarobert2012

If it is in your budget, it's a nice gesture, but it's certainly not required.

littleluckypenny

I would absolutely LOVE to host all my OOT guests, but that is actually half of my guest list!  It really bothers me since all these people are coming from FL and NC to my wedding in NY, but it would get awkward to host 90 people at a rehearsal dinner and the guest list is 180, which would be essentially having a RD for my side only.

pzavecz

We're not going to.  Over 90% of our guest list is OOT so having them all invited to the RD would be ridiculous.  I'm not trying to host 2 weddings.  If you only have a few OOT guests, it's a nice gesture.  If you have a lot, I wouldn't even worry about it.

pzavecz

We're not going to.  Over 90% of our guest list is OOT so having them all invited to the RD would be ridiculous.  I'm not trying to host 2 weddings.  If you only have a few OOT guests, it's a nice gesture.  If you have a lot, I wouldn't even worry about it.