Weddingbee Blog

Our original rehearsal dinner plan, from months and months after we first booked our venue, was to throw a backyard party in our neighbor’s large yard. We were also going to rehearse there, since our venue could not guarantee there would not be another wedding on the Friday before ours. Both of our families were fine with this, and everyone seemed to understand it would be really hard to rehearse in a restaurant, and our budget couldn’t handle another big dining expense!

Then we got word that the event that was planned at The Marvimon the day before our wedding was canceled, and the space was ours to use for an hour to rehearse! We were still going with the neighbor’s yard idea until I noticed our lovely tree. And our cute fence. I decided we had the time and resources to get our (rented) backyard nice and cleaned up before the wedding. We are now looking at a scaled down version of a rehearsal dinner, in our tiny backyard. Still super casual, still in a yard, just smaller and a bit more personal.

Hopefully, this will be the last change. I want to send out invites soon! However, some family members are still a bit wary of the idea.

I know that it is traditional to go celebrate at a fancy restaurant, but that just isn’t us. (And really, the nearest “fancy vegan” place is an hour from our neighborhood!) We are working on some sort of compromise, but until then what we are really working on is our backyard!

In preparation for the event we have been trying to get our landscaping sorted out. When Mr. S. and I moved into our house (a year ago this month!), our landlord promised some yard work come springtime. We are well into summer and that work never happened. Now I get to decide… Do I call him up and bother him about his promise? Or just go ahead and lay down some rocks and pathways myself? He said we can do whatever we want to the space while we are waiting for him… and we have been waiting a long time.

The last few weekends have been spent raking, pulling weeds, and planting. We started a small garden, and I turned half of my hanging lanterns into hanging planters.

The beginning of our small garden. Basil, peppers, chives. Also, our many baby succulents for other wedding purposes!

Votive candle lanterns and hanging planters. Next weekend we plan to have the entire length of fence finished.

Baby succulents!

Our rehearsal dinner plans have changed a dozen times. It has been hard to please everyone and meet expectations, yet also have a casual gathering that we will enjoy and be proud of!

Did you find it hard to balance the expectations of family members with your own desires while planning the rehearsal? Or did you give up complete control to someone else?