Elegant Wedding Idea: Rehearsal Dinner Alternative

The wedding rehearsal dinner can be one of the most significant, emotional and memorable parts of your entire wedding. If your wedding is very large, it may be the last opportunity you have to spend "quality time" with your closest friends and family, as you'll be spending most of your actual wedding day making a path from table to table and doing other planned activities like cutting your cake and taking your first dance.

If you, your parents, or a close friend have an appropriate space, one option to make your rehearsal dinner more personal is to host it at a private home. Have the event catered, with a white gloved staff, and you'll be more pampered than you would be at the fanciest restaurant -- and much more relaxed. You'll have fewer worries about rehearsal dinner guests driving in unfamiliar areas, or after drinking a bit too much wine (they could always stay put for the night, or until it's safe to drive). You won't have to worry about vacating by a certain time. And, if you're wine, dessert, or coffee lovers, you'll be able to showcase delights from many different vendors without worrying about corkage or restaurant rules.

A Sophisticated Wedding Cake Alternative

One of our favorite chic and original wedding tips is also a great tip saving some money on your wedding.

Instead of the traditional, multi-tiered, "wedding" cake, consider serving a variety of small specialty cakes. Black Forest, cheesecake, Baba au Rhum, petits fours, cupcakes - let your imagination and tastebuds run wild, and include any exotic confections that you like. Your interesting selection of hand-picked delectables will give your guests something to ooh and ahh about (and create a conversation starter for those who've just met). And, you'll create a dessert experience that your guests will talk about after the wedding just as much as the most spectatular, tiered, traditional cake (maybe even more!).

If you like, you could also try this approach combined with a very small, decorative "real" wedding cake for the bride and groom to cut for photos, and save for their first anniversary.