This may seem odd to some people, but our wedding didn't really seem real until all of our family started showing up for the rehearsal dinner. That's when it really seemed to hit me, that hey I was getting married the next day, and all of those plans that I had been making for the past nine months were going to be the next day. It was a weird feeling. Maybe a mixture of nervousness mixed in with a feeling of happiness that so many of our family members had made it to the rehearsal dinner, some coming in from great distances. Our rehearsal dinner was a great time of being able to hang out with everyone and relax a little bit from all of the wedding planning that we had been doing. Now, as I've mentioned in a previous article, Our Rehearsal Dinner, we chose to hold the event in a rented party room of a nice steak house. And it was really elegant and beautiful, but you don't have to have your rehearsal dinner that way. There are lots of great unique rehearsal dinner ideas that you can use to help ensure that you have the most fun with your family and friends before the wedding. Here are some of my favorite rehearsal dinner ideas.

Rehearsal Dinner Ideas - Sports

This is a great rehearsal dinner idea for all of you sport lovers out there. Instead of going to a fancy restaurant for your rehearsal dinner, why not have the wedding rehearsal early in the day, and then take the whole family out to the softball field, football field, volleyball court, or any other sport that you fancy. A great gift and helpful tool for the teams would be if you had t-shirts made with the bride or groom's team. This makes a great gift they can take home, as well as helping you tell the different teams apart. Then, have someone grill hamburgers and hot dogs out there. You're sure to have a rehearsal dinner your friends and family will never forget.

Rehearsal Dinner Ideas - Restaurant

I know I know, I said unique wedding ideas...but trust me. When my cousin got married, she chose a hip restaurant that was only a few blocks away from the wedding ceremony. It was so close we all walked to the restaurant where there was a large area set aside for the rehearsal dinner. The food was great, and the restaurant even had live music and a dance floor so that everyone could enjoy themselves. The reason this is in my list of great rehearsal dinner ideas is that it was a great time that the family could have together making memories, as well as a time for the bride and groom to kick back and relax a little bit.

Rehearsal Dinner Ideas - House Party

Instead of paying a bunch of money for a party room at a nice restaurant or hotel, why not just host the rehearsal in the home that the two of you will be sharing after the wedding? You can designate people to do the cooking (or cleaning), or just cater the event with your favorite restaurant, and let both of your families sit around talking, and really getting to know each other. This rehearsal dinner idea is a great way to just enjoy everyone together in a relaxed environment. Then, you can break out the video games or movies and enjoy the time you have together.

There are many rehearsal dinner ideas that you can use. Make sure that the choice you go with is something that is comfortable for the both of you. After all, you have a wedding in your near future, you shouldn't have to be stressing out about the rehearsal dinner as well.