The Rehearsal Dinner

Weddings are a day that most girls dream about but before the wedding can happen there needs to be a rehearsal dinner. After all practice makes perfect, but many people do not want to spend some of their wedding budget on a big rehearsal dinner. Here are some tips to having a special rehearsal dinner without breaking the bank.

1.)   Having a barbecue or a family member make the food at a nearby relative’s house is a good way for everyone to be able to mingle and have fun while avoiding the costs of restaurants.

2.)   If you want to keep the rehearsal dinner small, try having the rehearsal dinner two days before the wedding, that way only the wedding party and a few close relatives will attend instead of all the out of town guests.

3.)   On the contrary though, if you want to have more time with out of town guests then inviting them to the rehearsal dinner is a great way to get to spend a little extra time with them.

4.)   A great option for cheaper entertainment at a rehearsal dinner is a video or slide show of home movies and pictures of the bride and groom growing up!

Just remember that the wedding is all about the bride and groom and have fun with every aspect of it. The rehearsal dinner should not be stressful so make it as enjoyable and fun as possible!

Want to play a game?

What livens up a party more than a fun and entertaining game that brings everyone together? Wedding games are a perfect way to keep your guests on their feet and laughing the night away.

Here are the top 10 best games to play at a wedding:

1. The Shoe Game—This one will for sure get you and your guests laughing. The object of the game is for the bride and groom to guess which one of them is more likely to relate to certain questions. Take two chairs and sit them back to back in the middle of the dance floor. The bride and groom sit facing away from each other with one shoe from each of them in either hand. When the MC asks a certain question, such as, “who wears the pants in the relationship?”, the bride and groom each answer by raising the corresponding shoe in the air to whoever they believe wears the pants in the relationship. Everyone gets a good laugh and its fun to see your partner’s answers.

2. ISpy- This is a great game to get your guests involved and taking pictures. If guests would like to participate, had out disposable cameras with a checklist of things they need to snag a quick pic of. The list can be as funny or serious as you decide to make it. Examples of pictures your guests need to capture are the wedding cake, first dance, group photo at the table, someone making a funny face, a new friend you met, and a creative selfie.

3. Guess Who, Bride or Groom?- This is a more casual game you can have on the tables at your wedding for guests to partake in. Set out pieces of paper with character traits that the bride and groom can relate to and guess who said or did what first. For example, who made the first move? Who is a better cook? Who spends more money? You can reveal the answers in a fun way later in the night and offer a prize to the winner who got the most correct answers if you choose.

4. Flip Cup- If alcoholic beverages is what keeps your friends entertained this is the party game for you. Separate into two teams, bridesmaids vs. groomsmen or whatever you please and get a long table with party cups filled partially with your drink of choice. One team member from each side of the table start the game by finishing their drink and then placing their party cup on the edge of the table facing up. While using one or two fingers you must flip the cup until it has successfully flipped and is now facing down. As soon as the team member in front of you flips the cup to face down position, the next team member can begin drinking and follow the same procedure. The game finishes when one team has successfully flipped all of their cups before the other team.

5. Wedding Guest Bingo- This game acts as a wedding guest scavenger hunt. Make a bingo sheet for guests to accomplish by going around the wedding reception and finding certain people to sign their name in order to check a category off. For example, one square on the bingo chart could be to find someone who is left handed, was born in November or is related to the groom. The first person to complete their bingo chart wins.

6. Wed-Libs- Another fun and lowkey game that can be played by your wedding guests at their tables. Wed-libs is just like mad-libs but wedding edition. Come up with a creative and funny story with fill in the blanks for your guests to write in adjectives, verbs and nouns to create their own wedding story for you. Get creative with it and everyone will be sure to get a good laugh.

7. Cornhole- If you have a big outdoor space at your wedding, cornhole is a classic game that your guests will be sure to love. It is very easy to get a customized cornhole set with the bride and groom’s initials or last name on it and it will look perfectly wherever you put it.

Photo by RC Media

8. Giant Jenga- Jenga is another classic game your guests will love. Big jenja pieces can also be customized and bought ahead of time to be set outside for guests to play over and over again. This is a great one for adults and kids to play together.

9. Date Jar- This one isn’t so much a game but rather an activity for your guests to be apart of. Set out a jar at the gifts table or bar or some other stand guests will go up to where they can write out date ideas for the newlyweds to complete. It’s always hard to find new things to do but after your wedding you’ll never run out of ideas again!

10. Photo Booth- An old fashioned photo booth is a great way for your guests to take pictures and have a souvenir from your wedding to take home. Be sure to buy A LOT of film strips, this will definitely get used. Set out some props and make it fun!

Why you should do an engagement session

Hi, friends! Meredith of Meredith McKee Photography here! Last week we talked about feeling more comfortable in front of the camera on your wedding day (link to last week) & one of the big tips I shared was doing an engagement session with your wedding photographer. This isn’t the only reason to do a shoot, though! There are tons of benefits that I’ve compiled here for you to consider - and just a hint… my biggest take away is to have FUN!

1. Getting to know your photographer
I love getting to do engagement sessions with my couples because I truly believe that they are a VITAL part of the entire process.

Think of it more as a “getting to know you session”.

Just like you have a tasting with your caterer or a walk through with your venue, you should have the same experience with your photographer!

During your engagement session, you’ll have the chance to get to know your photographer, experience how they shoot, and learn how they handle posing and lighting. And they’ll get to know how you two interact & fit together! This session will make a HUGE impact on how the wedding day flows. You will feel like such a pro on your big day because of the great practice you had during your engagement session. It will be like welcoming an old friend to your day rather than a stranger and this naturally leads to more authentic photographs. Your photographer will be there for so many intimate and special moments throughout the day so this relationship is important to cultivate!

2. Taking the pressure off
In a similar vein to getting to know your photographer, doing engagement photos lets you take the pressure off of portraits. Some of my favorite photos of my husband and me are from our engagement session, not our wedding! Wedding days can be rushed and stressful. You’re surrounded by family, friends and vendors, and the emphasis isn’t really on getting the perfect portraits of you two (although we know that is a BIG part!) but rather on capturing the day as a whole.

Your engagement session is exactly that, though. 100% focused on you and your love. Engagement sessions are all about having fun and celebrating you as a couple. No rushing between timeline events, answering your mom’s millionth question, or worrying about getting your custom silk gown dirty. You get to focus on your connection, and tell that beautiful story through images.

3. Creativity with location
One of my favorite aspects about engagement sessions is that you can do them wherever you want! I love when my couples suggest going to the ice cream shop where they had their first date, or hiking in the mountains with their pup like they love to do every weekend. This is your chance to tell your unique love story, so feel free to get creative and think outside the box!

If you’re having an urban wedding, consider doing your engagement session in the countryside. This will give you variety in the photos that you will eventually hang around your home, and a chance to explore a different vibe. If you want more inspiration about choosing your engagement session location, you can check out the post I wrote about it over on my blog here.

4. Your season of life
I am a big believer in celebrating where you are at in life & your relationship. Kevin and I had a long engagement - nearly a year and a half. It was important to me to remember this time as a couple and not simply get lost in the waiting and planning. We got our puppy, Lemon, shortly after our wedding, so our engagement photos were our only portraits we’ve taken without her. That is a special (and slightly more peaceful haha) memory to hold on to! Whether you move apartments, or wanted to traipse through the snow before your summer wedding, this time of engagement is unique and important. Photos have the privilege of putting a time and date stamp on our lives and that is truly wonderful!  

5. Practicality for wedding usage
It would be silly to not mention the actual practical benefits of doing an engagement session! You can use your engagement photos for anything from save the dates to your guestbook to your wedding website. We even had framed photos of us placed on the gift & name card tables. You can repurpose those framed portraits to start that family photo gallery wall in your home! They’re going to look beautiful next to those shots of you officially saying “I Do!”

How to learn more about Meredith:
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