Think You Don’t Need to Rehearse? Think Again. Three Reasons Why You Need a Wedding Rehearsal

Even before my wedding planning days, I was the go-to person in my group for planning events and helping with their weddings. I am somewhat organized-and that helps. I am also meticulous with details and well … a perfectionist.

I always assume a couple will hold a rehearsal before the Big Day, that is why I am shocked by the number of couples I have to convince. So just in case you are considering forgoing this wedding day run-through … here are the top three reasons why you need to hold a wedding rehearsal.


You Care About Your Wedding
Okay. I might be stating the obvious here-but you do. You really do care about how your wedding turns out. Why else would you spend your savings on a wedding dress and stay up all night combing the Internet for wedding-related news? You want the perfect wedding, don’t you?
Then, trust me. You need to rehearse it. Please do not spend thousands of dollars preparing for your wedding and not have at least a small run-through to plan for mishaps or misunderstandings. If there are going to be any issues, you want to know before the wedding … not during it.

People Don’t Know What to Do
I know this sounds mean, but it is true. People really don’t know what to do. Are you going to have your bridesmaids walk down the aisle with the groomsmen? Are the groomsmen going to walk out with the groom and the officiant? What about the kids? How do they stand? Where do they look? How do they exit?

And that is just the wedding party. What about you and your groom? Most people don’t have a lot of experience “getting” married. Yes, maybe one or both of you have been married before, but each wedding is different and the dynamics of each group change.

I organized a beach wedding once where the couple insisted they did not want a rehearsal. I begged and pleaded and told them these tips … still, they refused. The evening before the wedding, the bride casually asked me, “So … what do we do tomorrow?”

Agh!

We ran down to the wedding location and conducted an impromptu rehearsal. After 45 minutes we all felt better about it. The groom later thanked me for my last-ditch effort and admitted they should have planned a rehearsal from the start.

Get Everyone on the Same Page
Once your wedding day arrives, you will be in no condition to ask people for help, look up telephone numbers or worry about who is paying who and when. The rehearsal is the perfect time to dish out assignments and share phone numbers with your wedding party and close family members.

I made a what was likely an overly-detailed list for each member of my wedding party and distributed it during the rehearsal. I listed telephone numbers for all of the vendors, my parents and aunts and all of the members of the wedding party. The idea was that if something came up and the flowers didn’t arrive, for example-any one of my friends could easily find the florist’s number and contact her.

I also distributed envelopes to my more responsible friends and asked them to pay the musicians, the officiant, etc. and asked them to help direct traffic, distribute programs and even to start the dancing at the reception.

Not sure how to organize your wedding rehearsal? Don’t worry … we will get to that in the coming weeks.

Are you planning to have a wedding rehearsal? What were your motivations? If not ... WHY?

Photo courtesy of Paul Chenoweth