Rehearsal Dinner not in budget

theresa929

Hello All -

Our wedding is quickly approaching...we are getting Married November 24th, it's a destination wedding to Florida and everyone will be traveling.  Because this is a 2nd wedding for both of us our parents are not hosting a reherasal dinner, I feel bad not having one or a welcome dinner or something of the sort.  Does anyone have any suggestions of something super easy and very friendly to our budget that we could do?

We are having everything at a resort so to add another thing to it is alike another event for the resort thus the cost keeps going up....Any suggestions you could lend would be great!!!

gurrlballa10

If you're having a rehearsal than there needs to be a RD.  It doesn't have to be big.  It can be pizza and soda/beer, but you need to host something.  If you're not having a rehearsal, than you don't have to have a dinner.

[Deleted User]

We're having a small destination wedding and no wedding party. However, on the Friday night before the wedding, we are hosting a welcome dinner at the local pizza pub. Maybe you could do something like that. Just an informal dinner or something low key.

JaxInBlue

Not being sure of your budget or how many people you want to feed, I agree pizza and drinks is a good place to start.  Also, sandwich platters, maybe take out BBQ or Mexican might work. If you have a kitchenette in your room, you might be to do spaghetti with salad and bread.

Everyone could gather in one hotel room or around the pool.  Our hotel offered (though we did not need it) to let us use the tables in the breakfast area as long as we did our own set up and clean up; you might ask if there is a more private common area you could use for a few hours.  You might also see if there is a park or public area nearby where everyone could go.

theresa929

Great ideas...I love the pizza place idea as well as something informal at the resort..I'm going to look into both of those. Thank you!

itzMS

ITA with the PP. Basically, it seems like you have two options.

1. Don't have a rehearsal.

2. Go off resort (can you find a local sports pub & grill, or something similar?) and host pizza, beer, & soda.

If you post to the Florida Local board nearest your resort's city, those ladies might be able to help find an affordable RD restaurant for you!

s-aries8990

Maybe don't have a party but spread the word about an informal gathering around the pool or something? You dont' need to host anything because it's not dinner, its just a bunch of friends hanging out. If they want to order their own snacks, its their call

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I think for a destination wedding, it's best to try to host something the night before, since people are paying a lot to travel and spending a few days with you. So, much like I would suggest someone not have a cake and punch reception if a lot of people need to fly to the wedding, I would suggest having a meal the night before a destination wedding, although PPs are correct that technically, without a rehearsal, you don't NEED one.

If it's an AI you're staying at, just have people meet you in a specific restaurant/dining room and see if they can set aside a space.

Otherwise, see if you can order a few trays of food. A Subway sandwich platter, some pasta and pizza from Pizza Hut, or a taco bar might go over well. See if there are some national chains or things you're familiar with in the area so you can better plan (and know the quality of the food you'll be getting).

Another idea would be to start something a little later, like around 8, and just do coffee and dessert. I have a friend who did this for all her OOT guests (RD was for people in the ceremony/family only), and it seemed like a great idea. If you have a suite, you can do it there. If not, see if you can use a room at the resort for about 2 hours. Since you're paying to have a wedding there, they might give it to you free or give you a good rental deal.

achiduck

We're doing pizza, wings and beer (as well as some salads and other munchies). It's coming in about $12 a person but we're also using a gourmet pizza place. Had we used a chain and skipped the beer it would have been more like $8.