Rehearsal dinner

What it is

In the United States, many couples hold a meal on the evening before they marry. It comes after the wedding rehearsal, the run-through of the ceremony that the couple and their wedding party take part in, which is where the name comes from. Sources describe it as a traditional pre-wedding ceremony, so it is treated as a customary part of American wedding preparation rather than an optional extra. It is a ceremony that sits just before the ceremony itself, a last gathering before the wedding day begins.

Guests and purpose

Those who come generally include the couple who are about to marry and the other people who make up the wedding party. Relatives and friends of the bride and of the groom are also part of the gathering. The purpose of the meal is for those relatives and friends to meet each other and have a good time, so the evening brings the two sides together shortly before the wedding. The couple also use the occasion to thank everyone who has helped with the preparations for the wedding.

Who pays

By tradition the parents of the groom meet the cost of the meal. That custom has loosened, and the sources note that modern practice allows either the bride's parents or the groom's parents to bear the expense. They describe no rule for splitting the bill, for other family members contributing, or for the couple paying themselves, so the picture is an older arrangement with a newer alternative beside it rather than a single fixed practice. What stays the same is that the meal is hosted by one side of the family rather than simply attended.

Toasts and gifts

The meal usually carries a small programme. Toasting is common, and people speak about the couple and about the wedding ahead. The couple, for their part, use the chance to thank the people who helped arrange the wedding, and small gifts are presented to those helpers. Toasting and the giving of these small presents are the activities the sources say generally go with the meal, along with the meeting of relatives and friends from both sides.

How Rehearsal dinner is kept

The wedding rehearsal comes first, when the couple and the wedding party walk through the ceremony. The meal follows, on the night before the wedding. Guests are the couple and the wedding party, together with relatives and friends of both sides, and the evening is given to meeting and enjoying one another's company. The couple thank those who helped with the preparations. Toasts are made, and small gifts are given to the people who helped plan the wedding. The groom's parents traditionally meet the cost, though modern practice allows either set of parents to do so.

When and where

It is kept on the night before the wedding ceremony, after the wedding rehearsal has taken place. Its date follows the couple's chosen wedding date rather than a fixed day in the calendar. The sources give no season, month or day of the week, and no separate festival it belongs to.

The sources describe it as a tradition of the United States, where it is a customary part of wedding preparation. No city, region or community is named, so it is best described as a national custom rather than one tied to a particular place. The sources say nothing about the custom being kept outside the United States.

What Rehearsal dinner means

For those who keep it, the meal marks the point where a wedding becomes a shared event rather than a private plan. Two sets of relatives and friends come together, and the couple use the evening to say thank you to the people who have worked on the wedding. Toasts and small gifts carry that thanks in a form everyone can see, and the gathering sends the couple into the wedding day surrounded by the people closest to them.

Questions people ask about Rehearsal dinner

See also

Islamic marriageThe sacred contract, agreement and wedding celebration forming an Islamic marriageRite of passageA ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new statusBridal showerA gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North AmericaJumping the broomA wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their union

Good reading and sources

• Rehearsal dinner on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.