We haven't budgeted for a rehearsal dinner and I know traditionally it's proper to host one with wedding party, their significant others and close family/immediate family. In all honesty we kind of forgot about it with all the planning. Oops!
Is it completely rude or in bad taste to not have one? My fiancé and I have a large wedding party - 16 in total (for bride and grooms side). Most of them are married or in a relationship so that boosts the headcount to double for a rehearsal dinner and then we would need to include immediate family. We are spending a lot to make our wedding happen, and just won't have the extra (thousands) to host this.
So im wondering if it's acceptable to do something more informal like invite everyone for a drink and a bite and we provide appetizers? Or invite everyone for a toast and maybe as the bar to cap it at $500 or such. I truly believe that our close friends and family won't really care if it's not a formal dinner I think they will just want to spend time with us. But to spend the money for close to 50 people is like a whole other wedding in itself! Most restaurants don't allow for large parties unless you commit to catering. I just feel so con fused on what to do and was wondering if it would be in bad taste to just skip it all together? I sould mention that our wedding is out of town so our friends/fam coming down for the rehearsal would all be coming from out of town by about a 1.5-2 hour drive.
Thoughts??