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Invitation wording

Rehearsal dinner invitations: wording and what to include

Rehearsal dinner invitation wording with eight variants from formal to casual, plus the details to include. Fill in and copy. Free to copy.

A rehearsal dinner invitation needs six things: who is hosting, who the dinner honors, the day, the start time, the full address and a reply date. The table below gives eight ways to say that, from a formal host line to a short text. Pick the tone that matches the dinner, swap the brackets and copy it.

Wording table: eight rehearsal dinner variants

Each row is a complete invitation. Brackets are the parts you fill in. The tone column tells you when the row fits.

VariantWordingBest for
1. Formal, one family hostsMr. and Mrs. [Host names] request the pleasure of your company at a dinner in honor of [Partner A] and [Partner B] on [Weekday], the [day] of [Month] at [time], [Venue], [Street address, City]. Kindly reply by [date] to [contact].Hotel ballroom or private club
2. Formal, couple hosts[Partner A] and [Partner B] invite you to join them for a rehearsal dinner on [Weekday], [Month] [day] at [time], [Venue], [Street address, City]. Please reply by [date] to [contact].Couple paying and hosting
3. Both families togetherTogether with their families, [Host A] and [Host B] invite you to dinner the evening before the wedding of [Partner A] and [Partner B]. [Weekday], [Month] [day], [time], [Venue], [Street address, City]. Reply by [date] to [contact].Two sets of parents sharing
4. Warm and relaxedCome eat with us the night before we marry. [Weekday], [Month] [day] at [time], [Venue], [Street address, City]. Tell us you are coming by [date] at [contact].Restaurant back room
5. Restaurant, food coveredJoin us for dinner at [Restaurant], [Street address, City], on [Weekday], [Month] [day] at [time]. Dinner is hosted by [Host names]. Drinks from the bar are on your own tab. Reply by [date] to [contact].Restaurant where drinks are separate
6. Backyard or grillBurgers, lawn games and a toast or two. [Weekday], [Month] [day], [time], at [Host name]‘s place, [Street address, City]. Reply by [date] to [contact] so we know how much to grill.Home or park gathering
7. Short text or eviteRehearsal dinner: [Weekday] [Month] [day], [time], [Venue], [Street address]. Reply by [date]. Link with parking and dress: [link].Casual, quick replies
8. Rehearsal plus dinnerCeremony rehearsal at [time] at [Ceremony venue]. Dinner follows at [time] at [Dinner venue], [Street address, City]. Hosted by [Host names]. Please reply by [date] to [contact].Wedding party and family only

Table: eight rehearsal dinner invitation wordings by tone (our own drafts, brackets are placeholders).

Variant 5 states the cost split in plain words because guests hate guessing at the bar. If you are covering everything, delete the drinks line. If a venue sets its own rules, ask it before you print.

Dinner table set with a linen cloth, glasses, a printed menu card and a tall vase of cream dahlias and greenery
Photo: Annie Spratt, CC0

Who goes on the host line

The host line follows who is hosting, not who is paying. A stationery vendor notes the dinner was traditionally hosted by the groom’s family, and that couples, both families or a larger welcome event may host now. Name the people who are actually welcoming guests.

Three rules cover most cases:

  • If you host together, put your names first, as in variant 2.
  • If one family hosts, they lead, as in variant 1. The couple is named as the honorees.
  • If two families share, join them with “together with their families”, as in variant 3.

If divorced or remarried parents are involved, borrow the line layout from the divorced parents invitation wording and keep the same layout on both invitations.

Lines guests always ask about

Add one or two of these under the main wording. They save you a dozen texts.

  1. Parking: Free parking is behind the building, on [Street]. Guests with limited mobility can be dropped at the front door.
  2. Dress: Dress is [smart casual]. Layers help if we sit on the patio.
  3. Partners: Partners and dates are warmly invited.
  4. Children: We are keeping the evening adult-only. We hope you can still join us.
  5. Food: Tell us about any allergies when you reply. We will pass them to the kitchen.
  6. Plain schedule: We eat at [time] and toasts begin about [time].

Keep the dress line to two or three words on a printed card, as with the wedding itself. For longer wording on dress levels, see the dress code lines. For what each guest actually wears, point them to the rehearsal dinner outfit guide.

When to send them

Vendor guides put rehearsal dinner invitations at about 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding. Another says to share the details when the wedding invitations go out. These do not conflict much. The tidy answer is to match your guest list.

  • Local guests: send about 5 weeks before the wedding.
  • Out-of-town guests: send with the wedding invitations, so they can book travel around two evenings.
  • Reply date: at least 2 weeks before the dinner, so you can confirm headcount with the venue.

These are our rules of thumb, built from the ranges above.

Worked example: a Friday dinner in June

A couple marries on Saturday, June 12, 2027. The rehearsal dinner is Friday, June 11, at 6:30 PM. About half the guests are local.

Example, our own calculation with assumed numbers.

  • Send date: 5 weeks before the wedding is Saturday, May 8, 2027.
  • Earliest and latest in the 4 to 6 week range: May 15 and May 1.
  • Reply date: 14 days before the dinner is Friday, May 28, 2027.
  • Guest count we assume: 2 couple, 4 parents, 8 wedding party, 6 partners, 1 officiant and 2 grandparents makes 23 people.
  • Venue deadline: if the restaurant wants a final count 7 days out, the couple has 14 days minus 7, which is 7 days to chase late replies.

The chase window is why a May 28 reply date works better than a June 4 one. A later date leaves no room to follow up.

Mistakes that cost you replies

  • No reply date. A blank invitation gets replies in a trickle. Always give a date.
  • No way to answer. List an email, a number or a link, and check that it works.
  • Address without a city. Guests will paste it into a map app. Give the full address.
  • A different time than the rehearsal. If the rehearsal runs long, say dinner starts at a fixed time.
  • Registry or gift mentions. This is a dinner, so leave gifts off the card.

If you use a wedding website for replies, show the full page address on the card, not just the domain. That keeps the link clickable for everyone who types it.

Who to invite

Common guests are the wedding party and their partners, immediate family and the officiant. Destination weddings often invite everyone who travels. Decide the list before you write the card, because it changes the wording of variants 7 and 8.

Keep your running list in the guest list template so the names match the wedding invitations. Once the guest list is set, the ideas for any budget and group size help you choose a venue and style.

After you send

Plan the evening so guests know what to expect. A simple run of show for the evening tells guests what to expect, and the guide to who gives toasts covers who speaks and for how long. Return to the rehearsal dinner overview for the full plan.

Paper card listing eight rehearsal dinner invitation wordings from formal ballroom dinner to backyard barbecue with a fill-in line for host and time

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Questions people ask

How do you word a rehearsal dinner invitation?

Open with the host line, then name the couple, then give the day, time, venue with its full address, and a reply date with a way to answer. Match the tone to the dinner. A hotel ballroom gets "request the pleasure of your company", and a backyard grill gets "come eat with us". Add one practical line about parking or dress.

When should rehearsal dinner invitations go out?

Vendor guides put it at about 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding, and some say to share the details when the wedding invitations go out. Our rule is to send them with or just after the wedding invitations if most guests travel, and 5 weeks out if they are local. Set the reply date at least 2 weeks before the dinner.

Who sends the invitations?

Whoever hosts the dinner sends them, and the host line names them. That may be the couple, one family, both families together or a friend. The couple often still handles the guest list and the mailing so the names and addresses match the wedding. If a parent hosts, let them approve the wording before it prints.

What should go on a rehearsal dinner invitation?

Include the host, the couple, the date, the start time, the full venue address and a reply date with contact details. Add the ceremony rehearsal time if guests attend both. Useful extras are parking, dress, dietary questions and whether partners and children are invited. Leave out registry details, since this is a dinner, not a gift occasion.

Should I send a paper invitation or a rehearsal dinner evite?

Either works, and the choice follows your guest list. A paper card suits a formal dinner with older relatives. An evite or a text suits a casual dinner and makes replies easy to track. A good middle path is a short email with the full details and a reply link. Whatever you pick, keep the wording consistent across versions.

Sources

Updated by bigdaydesk editorial

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