Details of who is invited to the rehearsal dinner...?

We both have a huge families, our aunts and uncles all have 2-4 children.. On my side of the bridal party we are including a child from each family (2 jr. bridesmaids and 2 flower girls) which includes a jr bridemaid from his side of the family. I know the entire bridal party is invited, grandparents, immediate family is invited --- but as far as the little ones go, is it proper etiquette to invite the entire family of the little ones taking part in the ceremony to the rehearsal dinner?

Details of who is invited to the rehearsal dinner...?
If you aren't strongly against it, yes, I would invite the whole immediate family of the children in the wedding. Obviously, you have to invite at least one parent, and as a parent, I can tell you that I would not assume, but would DEFINATELY appreciate, being able to bring the whole family instead of having to arrange for a sitter. Then again, I'm big on making sure my kids behave, and I do realize that a LOT of parents don't do that. I would also pay for the other kids' meals.





Let's say one or more of the bridesmaids or groomsmen is married. Would you invite them, their spouse, and their children? If you would, then yes, I think you would need to include the family of the little kids, too.





Everyone has their own ideas of who is invited to the rehearsal dinner. Since you mention the large families, and that grandparents are invited (yeah, I do actually know of a lot of people these days who don't do that), it sounds like you're coming from around the mentality I grew up with. For most rehearsal dinners in my extended family (us, aunts, uncles, first cousins, grandparents), the rule of thumb is to invite anyone who is visiting from out of town and is already there, and anyone who has spent time and effort getting things ready for the wedding. This meant that our rehearsal dinner consisted of my husband and I, our parents (and my stepmom and the MAWBS), our siblings and their dates/spouses (totalled ten people), my grandparents, our two best friends who are married to each other, another friend and her spouse, a total of three aunts and two uncles, five cousins, and two dates of cousins. Thirty-eight people. We had pizza, and I don't care, because I wouldn't have felt right not having any one of those people there (except I wouldn't have been heartbroken if my father-in-law weren't able to make it because he drove off a cliff or something......)





So it totally depends on what you consider to be "too much". Remember, the flower girls aren't paying their own way in the wedding, so I think the right thing to do would be to invite both parents, and at that point, it's up to you on whether to include other siblings. As I said, as a parent, I would definately appreciate the other kids getting the invite. I would also not be offended if you spoke with me privately suggesting that the other children are invited, but I would need to be paying their way. Just be polite about it if you do that.
Reply:Proper etiquette is to invite the bridal party only, not their extended family.





The rehearsal dinner is normally a thank you in advance to the wedding party for their contribution to your wedding.





Congrats on your upcoming nuptials!
Reply:You would only need to invite the children that are in the wedding plus their siblings and parents. Its not necessary to invite all the aunts and uncles if they or their children arent part of the wedding ceremony unless you want to.
Reply:I think it be very gracious on your part to invite the immediate family of the children involved. After all, they are in your wedding and their parents would have helped prepare them for the wedding. If the guest list gets big, consider scaling it down to a pizza party or something so that you can invite everyone who should be there.
Reply:That is entirely up to you, some people like them there and some don't, but if there not there who's going to watch them, more than likely someone in your wedding party. In other words it would be proper to invite everyone involved including the little ones.
Reply:Yes, you should invite everybody including the immediate family. If you invite the kids you should invite the parents and if you invite the parents you should invite the kids.
Reply:definitely the wedding party and definitely the out-of-town guests - not sure who else you would have to include for the rehearsal dinner
Reply:rehearsal dinners are usually the bridal party (if any of them are bringing a guest to the wedding and are from out of town then it's proper to invite their guest as well.) The immediate family of the bride and groom and traditionally the grandparents. If you don't have that many out of town guests then they are usually invited too. But if you have a lot of out of town guests then you don't have to include them unless you can afford to. Also it usually is proper to invite the entire family of the flower girls and ring bearers to the rehearsal dinner. I know it sounds extensive but you don't have to have your rehearsal dinner at a big fancy restaurant either. I've heard of people ordering take out or having a bbq for their rehearsal dinner when there's a lot of people involved. Hope this helps and best wishes to you!
Reply:this is a little unorthodoxed, but have u thought about not including little ones say under the age of 10? rehearsal dinners r nice sit down meals where ppl laugh talk and drink. now if u were doing this type of event for anything other than ur wedding would u invite children? what if that afternoon u and the bride to be took the children somewhere like chuck e. cheese and let them have their own fun! this will show them appreciation. i was in weddings as a child and i HATED the rehearsal dinners. its just an idea. good luck

Teeth Whitening