Wording library

Rehearsal dinner
wording.

A smaller, warmer invitation — whose main job is making unmistakably clear that it is not the wedding.

How do you word a rehearsal dinner invitation?

Name the host — traditionally the groom's parents, in practice whoever is paying — then say plainly that it is the rehearsal dinner, name the date and place, and state the dress. Keep it warm and short. It must be visually distinct from the wedding invitation so nobody arrives at the wrong event on the wrong evening.

01

The wording.

Traditional
Mr and Mrs Peter Reyesinvite you to dinnerfollowing the wedding rehearsalin honour ofAmara and Daniel

"In honour of" is the conventional phrasing and quietly signals that the couple are guests here, not hosts.

Modern
The night before —dinner with the people closest to us.Amara and Daniel

Works well when the couple are hosting, and when the guest list is small enough that everyone already knows what it is.

Welcome dinner for travelling guests
Join us for a welcome dinneron the evening before the weddingfor everyone who has travelled to be with us

Increasingly common at destination weddings, where the dinner is larger than a traditional rehearsal and open to all out-of-town guests. Say which it is — the two have very different guest lists.

02

Common questions

Who is invited?
Traditionally the wedding party, immediate family and officiant. At destination weddings it now often extends to everyone who has travelled — decide which and be consistent, because guests compare.
Does it go in the wedding invitation envelope?
Only if every recipient of that envelope is invited to both. Otherwise send it separately — it is the cleanest way to avoid an awkward discovery.
How formal should it be?
One notch below the wedding, always. A rehearsal dinner invitation that outshines the wedding invitation confuses the hierarchy of the weekend.

A weekend that reads as one event.

Rehearsal dinner, wedding and brunch each need their own piece — and they should be recognisably the same family of design. That is what a commissioned suite is for.

See what a full suite includes

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