Weddingbee Blog

Oh goodness, I almost didn’t want to recap the rehearsal because it was so stressful to me. I was stuck towing the line of acting calm like I didn’t care, and getting upset. I failed at both attempts.

One thing I wish I had known was that rehearsals aren’t very important in England. Nor do they have rehearsal dinners. So in retrospect, I would have better explained the importance of both to Mr. D so he could have effectively explained the importance to his groomsmen. I clearly failed at this task, because the only groomsman who was there was my MD-MOH’s boyfriend, who lives in Maryland. Two groomsmen were in Canada for their layover and the Best Man chose to stay later in NYC and skip the rehearsal. Mr. D’s mother, aunt, uncle, sister, and sister in law all thankfully filled in. I don’t have many photos of the rehearsal, mostly because I was trying to get down to business.

The ceremony space was a bit confusing, which is why it would have been great to have them there. Since they weren’t, I almost felt like having the rehearsal was a useless exercise because what we did the wedding day wasn’t even what we rehearsed. Thank the Lord for our DJ, who cued everyone appropriately and honestly, made the ceremony 100x smoother.

We tried the ideal weather scenario and the rain plan. Oh yes, the forecast called for rain. Don’t bother checking the forecast before your wedding. You can’t control that. Practice now, saying, “I cannot control the weather.” While you’re at it, go read Tiramisu’s recaps - they saved my sanity!

Once the exercise in futility was finished we headed over to Victoria’s Gastropub in Columbia, MD. We created a RD menu loosely based on our nationalities. We included Fish and Chips, Burgers, and a Pork Tenderloin/grilled nectarine/blue cheese salad. I couldn’t stop laughing at one point, because I realized that all the British folks ordered fish and chips, and most of the Americans ordered burgers!

I don’t have many photos of the rehearsal dinner, because I was busy socializing, eating delicious nectarine/blue cheese salad and being excited for the phenomenal chocolate, real whipped cream, praline and ganache cake (that we almost made our wedding cake) to come out. We also gave our families and friends their gifts and thank you cards.

At some point, my dad’s iPhone was passed around with photos of Nick’s US bachelor outing. I say outing, because the guest list was my OZ-MOH’s father, my BIL, and my dad taking Mr. D to a Hooters in Laurel, MD on a weeknight. It’s not the best Hooters location you could pick, but that didn’t get them down! It was a choice between Mc-do-gals or Hooters, and Mr. D chose Hooters. They made him eat the hottest wings (he has a cheese phobia, so he couldn’t eat anything to cool down!), put Tequila in his beer, and bought the outfit off the waitress for him to wear. Needless to say, the photos from the night are beyond funny.

We cut the evening a bit short when Mr. D had to rush to Baltimore to pick up the Best Man coming in from NYC, and swing by the airport to pick up his older brother and his best friend. That was the last I saw of him until the ceremony.

Was your rehearsal stressful, or did it calm you down to practice everything beforehand?