{"id":1211,"date":"2010-11-12T10:19:30","date_gmt":"2010-11-12T15:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/?p=1211"},"modified":"2017-03-14T12:59:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T16:59:14","slug":"planning-the-perfect-rehearsal-dinner-in-6-easy-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topweddingsites.com\/wedding-blog\/pre-wedding-parties\/planning-the-perfect-rehearsal-dinner-in-6-easy-steps","title":{"rendered":"Rehearsal Dinner | 6 Steps To Make It Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rehearsal

There are all sorts of ways to plan a wedding rehearsal dinner, and all sorts of appropriate people can plan one. We did it the traditional way (sort of) since I am the mother of the groom. Truth be told, I really allowed my son and his bride to do much of the planning and I just did the paying! It was fun seeing them make adult decisions and made me really proud.<\/p>\n

1. The Guest List<\/strong> – We began planning the rehearsal dinner with choosing the guest list, which can be comprised of everyone who needs to be at the rehearsal, their spouses (significant others) and close family members. Although some couples choose to invite family arriving from out of town, my kids wanted this to be an intimate, casual affair, and once you start inviting people not immediately involved in the rehearsal, well, feelings can get hurt if you leave anyone out. So, we had about 20 guests on the list and started to scout out some nearby venues to host the dinner.<\/p>\n

2. Logistics <\/strong>We based our choices on proximity to the couple’s home, the hotel at which many of us were staying and the rehearsal venue. Then we searched online to find restaurants in Newtown PA to host a rehearsal dinner<\/a> offering private dining areas that would accommodate a small group of 20 and we looked at their menus online. Once we had it narrowed down to three places, we got everyone together (including the new in-laws!) and dined at each restaurant, comparing food quality, choice, service, location and decor. It was a hard choice because we liked bits and pieces of each place.<\/p>\n

3. The Menu<\/strong> When we agreed that FOOD should be the number one consideration at the rehearsal dinner, we selected Palate, a new restaurant that just opened it’s doors this past summer and reminded me of a trendy bistro in the Village<\/em> (Greenwich Village in NYC) . Their menu is inventive and interesting and it changes seasonally. Since we were having the wedding in Autumn, we were able to\u00a0sample their autumn menu which consisted of a lot of unique vegetables and even a few really cool vegan dishes.\u00a0 The food wowed us and we were satisfied (not stuffed). There is no liquor license, which was actually a plus for us because we were able to get our own wine, beer and spirits which saved some serious cash (especially since I asked my son to pick up that tab!). Hey, sometimes, if the kids are doing as well as, or even better than, their parents, they can help out or even host these dinners on their own.<\/p>\n

\"wedding