Wedding Rehearsal Dinners Can be Fun!

Dear Link Lover,

When we were little girls, my younger sister and I were volunteered as flower girls in not one, but two weddings. We had aunts on both sides of the family getting married and in need of cute little flower girls, so, of course, we were it. I don't remember much about the weddings except wearing fancy white gloves, having to walk down the isle very slowly (that was hard, we had to practice), and lots of flash photography.

I remember even less about the rehearsal dinners which leads me to believe they must have been the older stuffy sit-down kind. Nowadays, things have apparently changed. Folks have gotten creative. Rehearsal dinners are not what they used to be, for now they are original and fun; and as memorable as the wedding itself. Here are some rehearsal dinner ideas that I have come across recently:

1. An informal BBQ bash - with red-and-white checked tablecloths on picnic tables, and potluck desserts
2. A Chinese restaraunt catered dinner (think: Orient Express) - with a sushi chef, paper lanterns, and personalized fortune cookies
3. A bowling party - with take-out pizza and soda, competitions and tropies (you know, most gutter balls, etc.)
4. A casino night - with poker, bingo, and raffle prizes (and of course, champagne)
5. A wine tasting party - red grapes, green grapes, and cheeses to complement
6. A tropical destination party / Luau (IF the honeymoon destination is a tropical one, that is) - hammocks, surfboards, tropical flowers, pina coladas
7. Tee-time golf theme at the country club (or miniature golf set up in the back yard works too)

Gosh, how could you forget a wedding rehearsal party Luau or Bowling Party? I know I wouldn't. Of course, back in my day, a few family members took a roll or two of b & w pictures (or 8mm movies) so we would have those to jog our memories someday, if need be.

Now, everyone is in on the act. The idea today is that all of your guests receive disposable wedding cameras so they can capture your memories for you. Now that's convenient! Better than having to do it yourself, especially if you happen to be the bride or the groom. Now, I'm not talking about the fancy wedding pictures that you hire the expensive photographer to handle. I'm talking about the before-and-after-the-wedding candid shots; the blurry, underexposed, red-eye'd ones that are so much fun to look at long after the wedding is over and you're wondering whatever happend to so-and-so who came to the wedding with that goofy so-and-so chick and what the heck was thing she was wearing, anyway?

By the way, I think some of these party ideas could be great for birthdays, showers, anniversaries, Labor Day, graduations... heck, they'd be fun just about anytime!

PS. Don't forget to bring the camera!