Themed Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Throwing a themed rehearsal dinner is a quick, easy way to pull together a cohesive pre-wedding celebration. When we say ‘themed’, we do not mean that you should require guests to dress up in pirate regalia and give out chocolate gold coins for dessert – although you certainly can.

A themed rehearsal dinner can be as simple as choosing a particular type of food to serve to your friends and family. Some of our favorite ideas include Italian, a crawfish or clam bake, and barbecue. These food themes tend to work well for rehearsal dinners since the food encourages family style platters, sharing and a convivial mood. Simply cover the tables in casual paper tablecloths (red and white checkered cloths work well for all three themes) and lots of candles – voila! An instantly quaint, pulled-together look and theme for your rehearsal dinner.

The first step to planning a rehearsal dinner is to pick out the invitations. The rehearsal dinner invitations set the mood for the party that is to come, and communicates the formality, style and essence of the event. Though the rehearsal dinner invitations can mirror the rest of your invitation suite, many couples view the rehearsal dinner as a separate event with its own, more casual invites.

For our three rehearsal dinner ideas above, we’ve searched high and low to find three cute and modern invitations. And at around $2 per piece including professional printing, you get the look you want without breaking your wedding budget.

Italian Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Candlelight, breadsticks and a modern taupe and soft red color scheme make this Italian invitation irresistible.

Crawfish Bash Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

For a casual, seaside rehearsal dinner, use this invitation to ask guests to join you for crawfish, beer and corn on the cob. It’s a wonderfully casual, low-key way to celebrate with your loved ones.

Vintage Bar-B-Q Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Who can resist a delicious barbecue? Friends and family will love the tongue-in-cheek nature of this vintage style barbecue rehearsal dinner invitation.

Stylish Spring Bridal Shower Dresses

The wedding high season is almost upon us, which means that it’s time to find that perfect dress for your bridal shower. Shopping for a bridal shower dress can be a task as daunting as finding the perfect wedding dress. Though it’s certainly not as important as your wedding gown, your bridal shower dress will be worn in the presence of all your family and friends, and many pictures will undoubtedly be taken – putting the pressure on to look your best.

Have Fun with Color

Luckily, with Spring fashions hitting the stores, now is the perfect time to find a pretty, feminine bridal shower dress. Keep your eyes peeled for bridal shower dress criteria like floral prints, ruffles, and flirty details. Also, try to focus on brighter colors – a bridal shower is not the best occasion to wear a somber black or brown ensemble. A dress with some color will look great in photos, and suits the celebration much better.

Narrow Your Dress Search

Once you’re ready to find the perfect bridal shower dress, narrow your search by first checking out designers known for their dresses like Rebecca Taylor, Nanette Lepore and Diane von Furstenberg. Searching online for the perfect shower dress is a smart time-saving strategy, since you can peruse many different designers and stores quickly without combing through racks. Shopping for a dress online also gives you a better idea of how the dress hangs on a person; some dresses that look odd on a department store hanger might fit and flatter beautifully once they are on the body.

Keep It Sweet – But Not Short

Avoid overly tight, clingy dresses for a bridal shower – you’ll likely be sitting down all day and opening gifts, so thigh-high hems will only leave you feeling uncomfortable and exposed. Keep in mind that guests will be taking pictures while seated, which, if you are seated in a circle to open presents, makes an embarassing panty shot hard to avoid in a super short dress. Keep the hem to knee-length or slightly below the knee to avoid any not-so-Kodak moments.

Our Bridal Shower Dress Pick

One adorable spring dress that fits all of our criteria is this lovely blue and white floral stunner by
Rebecca Taylor. It’s feminine, flowy and comfortable – perfect for a blushing bride to be at her shower. Get it online at Pink Mascara, a boutique that carries an abundance of super cute dresses and stylish accessories.