Mrs. Robin, Portland
Age and Occupation: 26, Client Services Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Professional Poker Play/Options Trader
Engagement Date: September 5, 2007
Wedding Date: January 5, 2008
Blogging Since: November 2, 2007
Venue: Portland Armory
About Me: I am a wine-loving, earring-obsessed foodie who lives in Portland, OR. I design jewelry as a hobby and love to shop for jeans, shoes, and vintage furniture. I am a crazy mix of modern and traditional values, and I can't wait to marry my best friend and see where God will lead our lives together.
Rehearsing Casual
December 9th, 2007 @ 10:25 am by Mrs. Robin
Our wedding is fairly elaborate for having only three months in the planning stages. And I will admit to being stressed (that is code word for going slightly crazy). However, I knew this was coming. From the moment we decided that our absolute maximum engagement length would be four months, I knew by the end I would be tired.
Which is why I have been standing my ground on my rehearsal dinner plan. I knew exactly what I wanted from day one… actually before that - I knew before Mr. Robin ever proposed.
Here is a vision of my perfect rehearsal dinner:
(center image from Banana Republic)
Red wine. Spicy pepperoni pizza. My favorite jeans. All our friends.
This is the last time I will see Mr. Robin until we are all suited up and ready. I want to relax. I want to chat. I want to not think about the details. I got the idea from my sister, who just wanted margaritas and Mexican food for her rehearsal dinner, but she didn’t get it - she graciously gave way to family demands for a very fancy, formal rehearsal dinner. But I have been saving her idea for about seven years now. And I am determined to get my way, so I’ve rented out Portland’s most haunted building, Old Town Pizza. They have a large upstairs room which can accommodate the wedding party and out-of-town travelers, so that we can all eat some amazing pizza and just be together.
What type of rehearsal dinner are you planning?
26 Responses to “Rehearsing Casual”
That is a GREAT idea! I would love that, but a lot of our out of town guests are older relatives so my parents are putting the pressure on to have a ‘nice’ dinner. Have fun with your rehearsal dinner!
We are doing a fun rehearsal dinner as well! We have reserved three hibachi tables at a local Japanese restaurant, so that the guests can be entertained while they eat. Everyone loves the idea, and we hope that it will be a blast.
We’re having a informal barbeque at my FIL’s place which is about 45min. from my home town where the wedding is taking place. I’m really looking forward to it.
We hope to book a restaurant where everyone can pick from a classic Southern entree (fried chicken/catfish, chicken tenders, meatloaf, chicken fried steak) and share some family-style sides (green beans, mashed potatoes, etc.). It’ll be BYOB and very casual, and hopefully a nice chance to relax before the more formal reception the next day.
We did a BBQ/cookout at my inlaws. It was nice and relaxed, and people could come and go as they pleased.
Have a great time!
i’m actually having a casual lunch rehearsal at boston beer works - steak tips and beer! it’s going to be on july 4th, so the wedding party and i can relax and have the rest of the day to enjoy what boston has to offer during the holiday.
I want the same thing. I am going to rent out a pavillion at a park and bring cases of Trader Joe’s wine and tons of pizza. All of our guests are coming in from out of town so this allows us to spend more time with them. We’re also planning on BBQ’ing the day after the wedding in our backyard. We have an inground pools and telling everyone to come and enjoy themselves.
We are also going the casual pizza route. We are wanted something fun & casual so we are renting out a room at a local brewery. They have great food and fantastic beer so hopefully it is a hit. There is also pool tables and shuffleboard. We thought it would be a nice way for everyone to get to know each other & I am not a fan of the fancy rehearsal dinners. The wedding will be fancy the next day.
Since we’re in Chicago, we had a pizza buffet (of course featuring deep dish pizza) for our rehearsal dinner - it was a fun atmossphere and everyone stuffed themselves!
We are doing a BBQ the night before at my in laws house
We just did a backyard BBQ at my guy’s dad’s house. They’re backyard overlooked a golf course and the whole thing was just nice and relaxed.
I wanted to do a luau (but that will be pushed to be a dinner the day after) for our DW in HI. The future FIL wants to do a dinner cruise with just a few people (and will probably let them do it their way). I think a BBQ sounds like a fantastic idea!
We’re doing the same sort of thing! Bucca di Beppo in NW DC has fabulous all you can eat family style dining for $22 a person, with $10 extra for unlimited wine & beer. Can’t beat that! Relaxing with vino, spaghetti, and my Italian soon-to-be family = happiness. 
We’re going bowling! We rented out a private room and private lanes at Lucky Strike in Hollywood. Lots of drinks, heavy appetizers of comfort foods and introducing all of our people (finally!).
Relaxed is the way to go!! We had everyone (all guests) over to our house for a bar-b-que. Many of our guests have never been to our town and I figured this was going to be the only chance they have to see our place. A family friend hosted the night so we didn’t have to worry about the food which was great. It was so nice to relax and be comfortable! Plus everyone could meander and chat. I hate be stuck at a table
Another fun rehearsal dinner I went to was at Joe’s Crab Shack! The bride and groom had to skip around the restaurant singing ‘going to the chapel’
i had never even thought of a relaxed rehearsal dinner! It is such a great idea and I am now hooked! thanks!
We did the exact same thing! We all headed to a pizza parlor in California’s wine country and it was so much fun. We all drank, ate, laughed and relaxed before the big day.
Love. It.
We did casual–and haven’t regretted it! My now-husband is Korean-American, so we did an AMAZING Korean dinner in a party room. The non-Koreans had a ball grilling all the amazing meat at their table, and they loved to try the very Korean soju alcohol. We finished the evening with–what else–karaoke! It was a blast–nice AND casual.
We’re having our rehearsal dinner at the small local greek restaurant (owned by close friends) where we had our first date… which, when we get married, will be almost NINE years later! Yikes! It’ll be our first and last date night as non-marrieds!
We wanted something informal and relaxing. And we ended up having our rehearsal dinner at Pizza Hut. Not glamourous but everyone had so much fun. And then we had drinks at our hotel lobby.
We are also going with the informal! We have rented out an old house in our town and will cater in Authentic New Orleans Cajun Cuisine … very messy and delicious! We will also have kegs and card tables to play round robin tournaments! The hotel is within walking distance as well!
Checked our the link to the Old Town Pizza place, and that looks awesome! Personally, I get freaked out really easily, so I dunno if I could pick a haunted place though, hehe =)
Me TOO! After our rehearsal we’re doing an hour-long “meet-and-greet” for bridal party and out of town guests at a wine bar with pizza!
Oh, all these ideas sound like so much fun! Your vision is cute, Miss Robin, outfit and all. =)
Vivian’s sounds fun too (more like delicious!). Dinner cruise AND luau? Can I be invited to your wedding?? =D
Since the wedding is in the USVI, we’re doing a “welcome dinner” for everyone who came instead of a rehearsal dinner. But I found this great little authentic Caribbean/West Indian place that is frequented by locals that serves amazing food. It’s pretty casual and is located in a former livery, but everyone says it’s great food.
