Don't want the stuffy, formal restaurant rehearsal dinner that etiquette once demanded? Check out our modern ideas for a rehearsal dinner that is relaxed, refreshed, and may include buffalo wings.
Sunset Picnic
After you rehearse all the steps, gather the troops and head for a beautiful park. Spread out blankets, and provide each blanket with a basket of wine, cheese, fruit, and meat. Pass around loaves of freshly baked bread. Tell stories and give toasts under the open sky in a romantic picnic atmosphere.
Backyard Barbeque
Set up picnic tables covered with checkered tablecloths in the backyard. Roast hotdogs and hamburgers, serve beer out of the bottle. Play horseshoes, tetherball, or volleyball. Or have a Texas-style open pit and barbeque; serve spicy chili and cornbread. Encourage everyone to bring their boots, and do a little two-stepping after dinner.
Beach Party
Even if you don't live by the ocean, you can still have a beach party for your rehearsal dinner. Set up volleyball nets and have competitions before dinner; play '60s surf music; serve lobster or steamers or stuffed crab. Drink ice-cold beer out of frosty mugs and (if you have it) bury your little brother in the sand.
Fiesta!
Whip up some homemade pico de gallo and chicken burritos for this all-out South of the Border party. Mix margaritas in blenders. Decorate tables with colorful red, pink, and orangle table covers and ribbons of serpentine. Best of all, have a pinata ready and waiting to be broken for the children (or the adults).
Stars of the Show
Create a Hollywood atmosphere for your rehearsal dinner with old-movie posters and pictures of stars and starlets. Cut out their faces and replace them with you and your fiance's. Serve popcorn and giant cokes, hot dogs and pretzels for movie-house fare. After all the toasts have been made, invite everyone to stick around for a showing of your favorite film. Perhaps "Father of the Bride".
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