Weddingbee Blog

Besides all the hours upon hours of planning that goes into a wedding, there seems like there is an awful lot of rehearsing too!

Optional—but not mandatory—practices include a hair trial, a makeup trial, and perhaps a few drafts of the invitation. But one things that is practically a must for any sort of ceremony involving a few folks is the rehearsal.

Via WordArtWorld Blog

We already have it all planned out to do a dry run at our local church the evening of the Thursday before the big day. Simple. But the thing that got me stuck was the dry-run chow.

You may or may not remember that food is a big deal to me. And so is party planning. And while I am at it, so is being thrifty.

Me & Mr. Sweets are the last people to be all fancy and I didn’t want to break the bank—anyone’s bank—on the rehearsal dinner. All I was thinking about was laughter, fun and good old-fashioned yummy food. I was also thinking something involving a BYOB.

It’s not like we are getting married in or around a down town metropolis area, so the options weren’t as overflowing as I would like. But hey, I can work with it.

My initial thoughts were a little BYO Mexican place, Tijuana Flats. In some part of the states you may have heard of it and if you have not, I suggest that you learn real quick. Although it might not be the most authentic Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been, they play rock music, have a hot sauce bar AND a “power light” menu (where you can get low-cal substitutes for things like sour cream, cheese & tortillas). Plus, the food is so yummy. And just when you couldn’t think that it could get more perfect, TijFl is a BYO so we are free to bring all the cervezas & margaritas our little spicy-lovin’ hearts could desire.

Via Google Maps

I was so set on this idea. This place is me & Mr. Sweets’ go-to spot when our brains can’t even think of where we might go to grab a bite. And I was insistent that we could make it work. It wouldn’t put us into debt and it would be so much fun!

OMG. So much to chose from. I never have a staple here. Plus it’s always fun to bring our own margaritas to sip with our chips & salsa!

Partial menu screen shot via Tijuana Flats website

I added up our wedding party, our families and readers and we were looking at approximately 25 loved ones who would join us for the dry-run chow down.

But like some of my “visions,” I just don’t know if the whole idea is actually realistic. I pictured myself and Mr. Sweet Cream getting people to taste the different hot sauces, pouring fresh made margaritas into mason jars that I tied with string or ripped fabric, and mingling with everyone at one long tablewith the rest of the commotion of the small restaurant being fuzzy to all in our party.

Well, since I do plan events for my day job I realized that I had to stop the fantasy and think about the logistics of reality.

TijFl couldn’t have us at one long table because we wouldn’t all fit, since the four top tables would now only fit two. They warned us about Thursday being the start of their crowded nights, and of course we could stay as long as we want, but there might be people there waiting for tables and that we shouldn’t feel rushed. And they couldn’t close the restaurant either…it was just too much. They also said that it might be a little tight if we wanted to squish the tables together into groupings.

So, after months of knowing that this was the perfect fit, I decided it was time to hang up the sombrero and cross Tijuana Flats off the list for the rehearsal dinner.

Sigh. At least Mr. Sweets and I still have it as old-stand by for when our brains can’t handle thinking of a culinary answer to our hungry bellies.

Did you have the perfect rehearsal dinner spot that just didn’t work? Are you going BYO? Do you tend to have “fantasies” that—hey, let’s just face it—aren’t reality?