Inspiration: 3 Alternatives to the Rehearsal Dinner

I don’t know about you but I am not a big fan of the rehearsal dinner tradition. I’m just gonna say it. As a bride you tend to be pretty manic in the lead up to the wedding (obvz) and by the time you get to the night before all you want to do is curl up in your jammies and get some beauty sleep before the biggest day of your life – am I right? I also always think it’s a bit of a shame as the bride usually has to make the decision whether to duck out early while the guests continue the party (kind of unfair no?) or stay out entertaining the guests and run the risk of dark circles under your eyes the next day.
When I think about the wedding I want to have in the States, one of the first things I thought of was having a fun alternative to the traditional rehearsal dinner that could take place in the afternoon. This would still offer guests the chance to mix and mingle before the wedding but meant the bride and groom could still get involved without having to watch the clock. The idea first came to me when I was sitting in a gorgeous vineyard in New Jersey and thought of what a lovely venue it would be for a “rehearsal lunch.”
So if you fancy an afternoon activity instead, here are a few ideas you could use instead.
1. Beach/Pool BBQ 
Easy, low key and perfect for the casual couple. I’m thinking coolers, beach cover-ups and toes in the sand. The weather is also perfect for this kind of thing in Dubai if you’re having your wedding during the fabulous Dubai winter and gives guests a chance to top up their tan for their wedding outfit 🙂

2. “Sports Day”
This could work two ways – say you and your intended are into a specific sport such as golf or tennis  – you could arrange a wedding tournament with Team Bride vs. Team Groom followed by a nice lunch.
If you want to be more all inclusive (perhaps your wedding party isn’t particularly into competitive sports) then you could arrange a picnic style lunch in the garden with lawn games and prizes at the end. This is a fab way to get guests to get to know each other before the big event and everyone is sure to have a bit of fun along the way. You could even host it in someone’s garden to save money – plus a lot of these games are easy to make DIY!

3. Vineyard / Wine-Tasting afternoon
Okay yeah this kinda depends on having a vineyard near your wedding venue OR you could create your own (we’re big fans of getting creative at MLW if you hadn’t guessed). If you’re doing it at home, a fun idea could be to pick your favourite wines as a couple and ask your guests to give their feedback on these. Anyone who knows me will know that a wine tasting is right up my street. It also provides an activity for guests to focus on and start conversations over. If you’re not into grape, you could also substitute this for mocktail tasting or coffee tasting or anything along these lines.

Sounds like fun right?
Okay back tomorrow 🙂
Image credits, in order: Image 1: intimateweddings.com ; Image 2: carlaaston.com ; Image 3: mydomaine.com ; Image 4: brides.com ; Image 5: etsy.com Image 6: ruffedblog.com ; Image 7: camillestyles.com ; Image 8: bloglovin.com ; Image 9: blog.hwtm.com