Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Activity Ideas

After the wedding rehearsal is over, the wedding party, along with other honored guests, typically enjoys a dinner that includes a number of special activities to celebrate the couple's upcoming wedding. Your wedding rehearsal dinner can range anywhere from completely unstructured and unplanned to a strictly scheduled set of activities. The following are some ideas to think about when you are planning what to do at your rehearsal dinner.

Rehearsal Dinner Activity: Introduction Game

The rehearsal dinner brings together the bride and groom's families and friends, and the people in attendance may not have ever met each other before. However, as very important people to the bride and groom, they do have a common tie to start with. Consider planning an introductory game or activity to allow people to get to know each other a little better.

One fun game is to make two tags for each guest: one that has their name, and one that indicates their relationship to you (father of the bride, aunt of the groom, college roommate of the bride, etc.). As each guest arrives, randomly give him or her a name and a relationship, making sure neither is correct. Then let everybody mingle and try to find the real owner of each tag they have been given.

Rehearsal Dinner Activity: Give People a Chance to Share

The rehearsal dinner is an appropriate venue for all those toasts that just won't fit into the schedule during the wedding reception. On the rehearsal dinner invitation, you can tell your guests to each come with a short anecdote about the couple or piece of advice to share sometime during the evening. If possible, consider making an audio recording of all the things shared so you can enjoy listening to them later in your marriage.

Rehearsal Dinner Activity: Present Gifts to the Bridal Party

The rehearsal dinner is a great time for the bride and groom to say a few words about each of the individuals they have chosen to be in their bridal party. You can also present your attendants with their gifts. This is especially meaningful if each attendant has a personally selected gift, rather than giving everybody the same thing.

If you have a flower girl and ring bearer, the rehearsal dinner is an opportune time to honor them and present them with gifts as well. These children will enjoy being the center of attention for a few minutes, and it will give them a chance to get acquainted with the feeling of having the eyes of many adults on them. This activity, and some encouragement from the bride and groom, will help further prepare them mentally for their roles in the wedding ceremony.