So I know that the wedding dinner is the traditional thing to do, however, for our wedding we're actually just doing a dessert. We have a lot of guests from out of town that we didn't want to exclude but couldn't afford dinner for everyone. So we decided that after the rehearsal we're going to just have different tables set up around the room with desserts, that way people can mingle and talk and just hang out. There are tables to sit down all around and this way we can have all of our family and friends there without having to worry about going over budget. You can make cookies extremely cheap, and buy some bundt cakes from Sam's Club, Costco, or Walmart all for very cheap. We're having our friends from in town make some desserts to bring to take the stress off of us. You only need 1 1/2 desserts per person that is coming to have enough, it will average out just about right!
When our son got married last September, almost all of the guests were from out of town. We gave them a choice of a nice dinner at a restaurant for the wedding party or a beach barbeque for the entire guest list. The beach party was the choice and I think we had a low-key, great fun afternoon and evening. While we splurged on catered barbeque, we could have purchased it for much less at Costco. The beach didn't allow alcohol which saved tons of money. Instead we supplied tubs of ice full of bottled sodas and iced tea. I don't think anybody even missed the beer. For dessert each person made their own s'mores over the fire. Add volley ball and a couple of kites and it was a blast!
We had our rehearsal dinner at the site where we planned to get married, and it was very do-it-yourself: frozen lasagna and garlic bread along with salad, soft drinks, and cupcakes. Our wedding was in the fall, so I decorated the rehearsal dinner with plastic autumn-themed tableclothes (total of $3) and put our centerpieces for the wedding (silk flowers) down the tables (free!). Everyone loved it and it was a great meal.
When we got married, our rehearsal dinner was hosted by my husband's sister-in-law in her finished basement. She bought rolls, made a large meat and cheese platter, had condiments, potato salad, macaroni salad, a nice tossed salad, drinks, etc. Several family members made potluck dishes. No one had to work in the kitchen for hours, we had no huge restaurant or catering bill, and we were all free to relax and visit. We took leftovers home to eat for lunch the next day before our evening wedding.
For a friend's rehearsal dinner, we decorated tables at her parent's home, bought flowers for centerpieces, ordered pizza, made a large salad, and everyone bought a bottle of wine or beer to share. It was just an evening of relaxation and fun.
My son and his wife were paying for most of their own wedding and wanted a nice one, so I told them what I would contribute and let them decide if they wanted it to go to the rehearsal or wedding. They chose to have a nice backyard picnic, where the families could get to know each other, and use the rest of the money toward the wedding. Best part is, all I had to do was make some pasta salad, they did the rest.
I am an event decorator and coordinator. I find that many people get caught up in spending money, and trying to impress. The best times are the ones where you put your heart into it, and not your pocket book. A simple easy dinner at home is just fine. There doesn't have to be a lot of fuss with decor either. Why not make this a celebration of two families coming together. Think of ways you can let the brides parents know how much you are looking forward to expanding and melding your families. In the end, this is what it's all about. Not money, not decor. No impression for them or the atttendants at the wedding is more important than the love that you show at this time.
I recently got married and we had our rehearsal dinner in our backyard bbq style. Each member of our wedding party or immediate family brought food/drinks/plates etc. It was great and everyone had a wonderful time with little to no cost for us!
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Request: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
Archived on 02/01/2009
My son is getting married next month, not much time to save any money. I need some advice on cheap ideas for a wedding rehearsal dinner since we are broke. And any other advice what the groom's parents are suppose to do towards helping on the wedding plans. Thank you for any advice! I'm going nuts!
spazzy1019
Answers:
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
If I were in your shoes, I would get a chicken dinner package from my local Super Walmart for the number of people I'm planning to serve. The chicken is much better than KFC and much cheaper. They have packages that will feed up to 100 people. Good luck with your plans.
(03/11/2005)
I don't know where you live, but if it's warm you could have a cook-out. My son got married last September and that's what he wanted. I had hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, salads and a few dips. For desserts, I made cheese cake, pound cake, and a regular chocolate cake. I got colored tablecloths and decorated each table. I also got disposable cameras for each table so people could take random pictures. It turned out great.
We ended up buying the flowers to decorate the church and the men's boutonniere. I can't remember what other flowers we may have provided, but it was quite expensive.
I feel for you, I went through the same thing last year and was so glad when it was over. Good luck! (03/11/2005)
By Guest
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
Do a pot luck dinner, nobody will mind bringing something and it is supposed to be a relaxed fun atmosphere, a rehearsal for the big day!
Good luck and congrats! (03/11/2005)
By
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
You can serve pasta as a very inexpensive meal for quite a few people. Walmart has a great bottled pasta sauce for $1.00 per bottle. It's really good for a quick meal. If you want to add meat use ground turkey. It's around 99 cents per pound and no one will know the difference in spaghetti sauce. Serve french bread on the side, 99 cents per loaf at Walmart. Make a basic salad with a vinegar and oil type dressing. This saves from having to buy multiple dressings. Use paper plates, cups, napkins, and plastic serving ware. Again all this can be purchased at Walmart for a very reasonable price. For dessert you could go with a pre-made angel food type cake topped with melted milk chocolate chips and whipped cream or fruit and whipped cream. More than likely you could feed everyone you need to for around $60.00. You could make up everything ahead of time except the actual pasta. Good luck and congratulations. (03/11/2005)
My parents had my brother's rehearsal dinner at a local restaurant, on a night this restaurant was normally closed. The restaurant did the BBQ meat, rolls, drinks, plates, napkins, cutlery. My mom and I did side dishes and desserts. This was great, everyone agreed. It was nice to have the place to ourselves minus the restaurant owners. And my parents didn't have to do it all themselves.
(03/12/2005)
If you belong to a church what about their fellowship hall? Also, I went to a wedding reception at our church where the couple was older, and had a tight budget. They asked that everyone bring a dish and have a "family" dinner. It was nice and we had a lot of fun. (03/21/2005)
By lbrown1351
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
We did pizza after our rehearsal. There was so much going on that evening as far as little details that needed to be worked out and having the pizza delivered really took the worry of what to cook and who was going to cook it! You can add bread stix and wine & beer. With that short of a time span you could ask to host it at someone's house or right at the hall where you may be decorating that evening. (04/01/2005)
By Vicki
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
SAMS club has an awesome frozen lasagna, paired with asking perhaps a few family members to bring salad, bread, and drinks. You could also have a sheet cake made for around $25 with the bride and groom's name on it. Offer a meatless version for those who are not into carnivorous eating.
(08/23/2005)
By L.
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
When my brother got married, we had the rehearsal party at Pizza Hut! It was great, mountains of pizza, wings, beer, Caesar salad and it cost less than $500 (we had a lot of out of town guests join us, even though they weren't part of the wedding - about 50 of us in all). That's only $10/person for beer and everything it was fun!
(07/09/2007)
By Sarah
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
We had a festive chili feast in the venue where we held the wedding.
I purchased multi-colored plastic tablecloths from the party store on sale for 74 cents each, and bought napkins in the same colors. Red, gold, and green, I think. I took my cue from some fiesta decorations in the store. We embellished the decorations by putting maracas and cheap sombreros around the room. I also bought some red plastic baskets, which we lined with different colored napkins and filled with tortilla chips. I didn't do it, but I considered buying 2 dozen multi-colored balloons and putting 6 in each corner of the room, that would have added only $10 to the tab.
I made the chili myself, and served it in a disposable chafer from the party store. I also made up a garnishes tray with cheese, jalapenos, onion, and sour cream. We served domestic light beer and whichever "Mexican" beer was on sale that week. We put it out on ice in party tubs. We also served iced tea and after dinner, coffee. My mother-in-law made cookies for dessert.
The whole deal cost us about $250. You could have the same food catered from a place like Red Hot and Blue for about $500. We served approximately 50 people. (10/18/2007)
By Karen
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
We have been thinking about having our Rehearsal Dinner at a bowling alley. They have party rooms and also serve pizza, etc. It sounds like it might be a good idea. No fuss! (06/07/2008)
By Wendy
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
My parents did a great job, with a night time catered chicken, cold side dishes, beer, and wine in their yard under a tent canopy. Low cost. Each of the women brought desserts. His family paid for the drinks. (07/20/2008)
By Tammy
RE: Cheap Ideas For A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner
At our first son's wedding we had a wine and cheese tasting with tons of hoers 'd oeuvres and breads. We finished with light cakes and pastries for dessert. Everyone enjoyed them selves and we spent about $300 by doing the cooking ourselves for the 50 guests. (09/18/2008)
