Formal dinners, backyard cookouts and welcome parties: wording for the night before the big day.
The rehearsal dinner is the wedding weekend’s warm-up act: smaller table, closer people, longer toasts. Copy the wording that matches the evening, swap in your hosts, venue and times, and send it to the short list. RSVPs and meal choices gather on one live dashboard, right beside the wedding’s own numbers.
The classic register: hosts named first, dinner and toasts to follow.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Whitmore request the pleasure of your company at the rehearsal dinner honoring Emily Sanders and Thomas Whitmore Friday, June 12, 2026 at 7:00 PM The Ivy Room at Hotel Chandler, Charleston, South Carolina Dinner and toasts to the couple Kindly reply by May 29.
With gratitude and joy, the Chen and Alvarez families invite you to dinner on the eve of the wedding of Grace Chen and Mateo Alvarez. Friday, September 18, 2026 at 6:30 PM The Vineyard Terrace at Stone Hollow, Napa, California An evening of dinner, wine and words for the couple. Please respond by September 4.
Following the wedding rehearsal, please join us for dinner in honor of Olivia Grant and Marcus Bell. Friday, May 22, 2026 · Rehearsal at 4:30 PM, St. James Chapel Dinner at 6:30 PM · The Magnolia Room, Birmingham, Alabama Hosted with love by the parents of the groom. Kindly reply by May 8 and share your entrée choice.
Relaxed night-before gatherings: good food, short speeches, early bedtime.
Before the vows, the brisket. Join us for a rehearsal dinner cookout honoring Katie Hall and Sam Boone! Friday, July 10, 2026, 6:00 PM The Boone family backyard, 47 Shady Creek Lane, Tulsa, Oklahoma Smoked everything, picnic tables, and a toast whenever Grandpa Joe is ready. Casual dress. Save the good shoes for tomorrow. RSVP by June 26.
Tomorrow: forever. Tonight: pizza. A relaxed rehearsal dinner for Jenna Ortiz and Will Foster. Friday, October 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM Fired Up Pizza Co. back patio, 210 Brewer Street, Columbus, Ohio Wood-fired pies, big salads and short speeches (we set a timer). Come hungry, leave rested. Big day tomorrow. Reply by September 25.
The rehearsal is quick. The tacos are not going anywhere. Dinner after the run-through for Maya Patel and Chris Novak! Friday, April 24, 2026 · Rehearsal 5:00 PM at Lakeview Gardens Tacos from 6:15 · The pavilion at Lakeview Gardens, Austin, Texas Taco truck, string lights, coolers full of everything. RSVP by April 10.
One last dinner as two families. Tomorrow we’re one. Please join us for a rehearsal dinner honoring Sarah Kim and Daniel Osei. Friday, August 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM The Kim family home, 12 Crestwood Drive, Evanston, Illinois Home-cooked, heartfelt and finished early. Everyone needs their beauty sleep. Reply by July 31.
The night the toasts get honest. The invitation can start it.
Practice makes married. Join us as Nicole Barnes and Jake Ellison rehearse the walk, the vows and the standing-in-the-right-spot part then eat like people with nothing left to plan. Friday, March 20, 2026 · Rehearsal 4:30, dinner 6:30 Trattoria Fiore, 84 Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island Toasts welcome; save the embarrassing ones for tonight, not tomorrow. RSVP by March 6.
Tomorrow they get the fairy tale. Tonight, we tell the real stories. A rehearsal dinner for Lena Brooks and Marcus Cole: dinner, drinks and gentle roasting of the almost-newlyweds. Friday, November 6, 2026, 6:30 PM The Copper Door, Nashville, Tennessee Two-minute toast limit, enforced by the best man with a cowbell. Reply by October 23.
Wedding-eve jitters pair beautifully with noodles. Join Amy Tran and Jordan Lee for a rehearsal dinner at their favorite spot, the restaurant from their first date, obviously. Friday, June 26, 2026 at 7:00 PM Pho Golden House, 310 Argyle Street, Chicago, Illinois Come practice your chopstick grip and your toast. RSVP by June 12.
The growing tradition: after the dinner, the whole out-of-town crowd gets a welcome drink.
In town for Emma and Noah’s wedding? Come say hi early! Welcome drinks the night before, Friday, September 25, 2026, 8:30 to 10:30 PM The Lantern Bar at the Harborview Hotel, Portland, Maine Drop in after your dinner for a drink and a hug; the couple will make the rounds. No RSVP needed, but a heads-up by September 18 helps the bar.
The wedding is Saturday. The welcome is Friday. All wedding guests are warmly invited to a welcome party for Priya Raman and Alex Turner. Friday, May 15, 2026, 7:00 to 10:00 PM The Courtyard at Hotel Sofia, Santa Barbara, California Heavy appetizers, an open bar and name tags nobody will wear. Please RSVP by May 1 so we can plan the spread.
Rehearsal dinner for the wedding party, s’mores for everybody. After 8:00 PM, join Hannah and Ben’s whole wedding crowd around the fire pits Friday, October 16, 2026 Cedar Ridge Lodge lawn, Asheville, North Carolina Blankets provided, marshmallows unlimited, early night encouraged (photographer’s orders). Let us know by October 9 if you’ll swing by.
Whichever tone you choose, every rehearsal dinner invitation needs the same bones: who, what, when, where, and when to reply.
Traditionally the groom’s parents host; today it’s the couple, both families or anyone who offers. Whoever hosts leads the invitation. Guests reply to the hosts, not the couple.
If guests attend the run-through, print both times: “Rehearsal at 4:30, dinner at 6:30.” If dinner stands alone, one start time is plenty.
Wedding party and partners, immediate family, the officiant, and the parents of child attendants. Out-of-town guests are a gracious extra, not an obligation. The welcome party exists for them.
The rehearsal dinner is the toast venue of the weekend. A line like “toasts welcome” (or a two-minute limit, stated with a wink) lets speakers prepare instead of improvising.
Guests will ask. Match the code to the venue (“casual, save the good shoes for tomorrow”) and say it on the invitation so nobody packs blind.
Where the wording goes next: designs, guides and the rest of the library.
Wording etiquette for rehearsal dinner invitations, answered plainly.
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