Wedding Blog
My apologizes to all vegetarians, but Mr. Cookie and I like to eat meat! We are a meat and potatoes kind of couple. There is nothing better for dinner than a good steak (medium rare) or a slab of pork spare ribs and all the fixings: corn dripping with butter, corn bread also dripping with butter, potato salad and baked beans. It’s a heart attack waiting to happen, but we love to eat it — once in awhile. Yummy!
Since half of our guests will be traveling from out of town, Mr. Cookie and I wanted to make it more of a weekend rather than just one day, on the stipulation that it didn’t break the bank. Also, I think it would be really hard and stressful to give each guests the attention they deserve for traveling all this way on just the day of our wedding. We haven’t seen some of our guests in a few years, and there is a lot to catch up on. So, we decided to invite all our guests to our rehearsal dinner.
With the estimated 50 + people we expect at the rehearsal dinner, going to a fancy restaurant was out — we needed to figure out another solution. This is one of Mr. Cookie ’s planning duties for the wedding, and I will admit I was a little apprehensive when he suggested a pig roast for our rehearsal dinner. Apparently, one of Mr. Cookie’s coworkers hired Arapahoe Hog Roasters for their vow renewal a few years ago, and loved the food. Mr. Cookie called the roasters, and after looking at their catering menu, we now have an 80 lb. roasted pig on a spigot along with chicken, all the fixings, and drinks being delivered for our rehearsal dinner. Although apprenhensive, the idea has really grown on me and I am very excited about our pig roast rehearsal dinner!
Also, since our house is too small to hold 50+ people, we decided to hold the dinner in a park next to our house. For $30, we reserved the park, and it has a little shelter with picnic tables that will seat all our guests. For an additional $20, we reserved volleyball, bocce ball, and croquet to play on the lawn. Our hope is that the rehearsal dinner will be a fun, relaxing night with our family and friends in preparation for the semi-formal event the next day.
What are you doing for your rehearsal dinner? Are you inviting all your guests or just the bridal party?
|
Share this post: Roasting The Hog!
That sounds like so. much. FUN! I’m dorking out right now getting excited about bocce ball and croquet in the park - and a PIG!
We’ll be doing something similar. It’s definitely FI’s family bringing rural Montana to the city, so it should be lots of fun. FI’s parents will be cookin’ up a bunch of meat and a friend will cater the side dishes. We’re going to host at our house. …but FI’s family is considering opening up the party to all OOT guests, so maybe I’ll steal your idea and rent a park!
that sounds like a lot of fun! that would be one event that i wouldn’t dare miss if i were a guest
No judgement from this vegetarian… However, do just make sure you have something to feed any possible vegetarian guests.
Please don’t assume that you don’t have any vegetarians attending. I have been one for almost five years and many of my friends and family still don’t know (or remember that they DO know) that I am one.
As long as there are plenty of veggie side dishes, I am always happy to make a meal of that, though you should find out which might be made with animal products so you can make that known. Vegetarians actually lose the ability to digest animal protein and so eating beans made with bacon, for example, can make us quite ill.
Hope this didn’t sound soapboxy… just thinking of my fellow “unknown” veg heads. There are more of out there than you think….Muahhahahah! 
We’re having a bbq at the campground we’re getting married at. We’re inviting the WP as well as any guests that are camping there Friday night!
I really wanted to have all of our out-of-town guests at our Rehearsal dinner until I realized, that was MOST of our guests! When my finace pointed that out, I agreed to go w/his “wedding party only” idea. It will be nice to spend time w/just the wedding party and I think we’ll find a place where people can meet up after the rehearsal if they want to, just to hang out and visit for a bit. I LOVE your pig idea. Kudos to Mr. Cookie.
@Erin: Where in Montana is your FI family from? I was born and raised in Montana, so I have a lot of guests coming from there! Ironic! @beanchar: Adendment to post: One of my bridemaids is vegetarian, and there will be vegetarian friendly food at our pig roast!
We did something very similar, Miss Cookie. We invited all of our guests (all 140 of them) to a tented barbecue at my inlaws’ home. We had ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and all the fixings as well as a couple of kegs and several cases of wine. My inlaws have a huge back yard which allowed for a giant tent with tables and chairs, bocce, volleyball, and frisbee football. We had about 120 of the 140 guests there and it was awesome to get to visit with our friends and family outside of the more formal wedding atmosphere.
I will note that the mass rehearsal dinner was made possible entirely by the generosity of my inlaws. They’re amazing.
FI’s family is from St Ignatius, MT. It’s ~ 40 N of Missoula. Their family traditionally has backyard BBQ weddings, so I’m glad that they get to integrate it into our wedding (in Portland, OR).
Where abouts are you/your guests from in MT?
@sunflowers: I second that. While I’d really like to spend extra time with our OOT guests, it kind of feels like “why don’t we just invite the other 5 local guests and do the wedding now?” I’d prefer an immediate family and wedding party only RD simply because our families haven’t met yet and I’d like them to spend some quality time together before the wedding! But I’m letting FI’s parents decide, since they are hosting.
We are doing the exact same thing! We also have a lot of people coming from out of town, so wanted to include them all in the “rehearsal dinner” which we are calling our Welcome Dinner. I have to admit I’m more excited about the pig roast on Friday than the reception food on Saturday! Is that bad or what?!
We’re definitely a meat and potatoes couple too! We’re foregoing the traditional wedding and having an outdoor ceremony on the St. Lawerence River with BBQ to follow (along with badminton and horseshoes)
The formal “traditional” (boring) reception is just not our taste.
We’re also skipping the rehersal dinner alltogether. The bridal party consists of 4 people (including us) and we’re having less than 50 guests (only inviting people that REALLY matter) so we’ll definitely be able to save money for more important things (like a down payment on a house). I’m so excited for our wedding! Too bad its still a year away 
Ohhh this makes me a bit sad b/c I am a vegetarian who took it a few steps further and became vegan 6 months ago so I wouldn’t do all that well watching a pig roast, but I love the casual style of the event with the bocce ball and all of the games.
We also have quite a few guests coming in from out of town, so we are renting out the Dark Horse Bar and Grill in Boulder and hiring a bluegrass band. We will have a buffet of burgers, fries, coleslaw and baked beans with the option for veggies to order off of the menu. I am going to dress up the “dive-ish” bar with linen checkered tablecloths and sunflowers; he wanted a causal affair with bluegrass and I wanted a more classic wedding, so this way we both win. I think your idea sounds original and unique. Your guests will certainly find it memorable!
[...] (the elevation that Mr. Cookie and I live) they will begin the acclimation process while dining on roasted pig without even knowing [...]
[...] as Mr. Cookie and I wanted, the pig roast was an opportunity to give our guests the attention they deserved for traveling all [...]
[...] as Mr. Cookie and I wanted, the pig roast was an opportunity to give our guests the attention they deserved for traveling all [...]
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Mrs. Cookie, Denver
Age and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Analyst
Engagement Date: September 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: May 8, 2008
Venue: Ten Mile Station
About Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Latest Gallery Pics