Our Rehearsal Dinner & Welcome Party
Detailing all of the special touches of our rehearsal dinner and welcome party, which felt very "old-Florida" and us!
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After my bridesmaids’ luncheon, I went home, changed into my rehearsal dinner look, and then went to the First Baptist Church of Vero Beach, where we had our wedding rehearsal, which was led by our coordinator, Anna Corbin. It was hysterical running through it all and actually super helpful in easing my nerves– I can’t reiterate the importance of an actual rehearsal more. 😂
The Rehearsal Dinner
Like I mentioned in my first wedding week blog post about our pre-wedding pickleball party, we ended up having our wedding in Florida during true resort season, so you know that we had to incorporate palms and Florida vibes somewhere… luckily my parents-in-law know how to throw a party, and they hosted the most colorful, lively, personal rehearsal dinner and welcome party we could have ever imagined.
They hosted it at their golf club in Vero Beach, Riomar, in the newly decorated clubhouse that sits on their front nine that overlooks the ocean. It was a spectacular setting, and such a mild, beautiful night for it all. We had dinner in their dining/event space that already had a very Florida-feel, with the fun palm wallpaper and bamboo chippendale chairs. My mother-in-law absolutely crushed the decor– incorporating my favorite colors: pink and green, and textures: rattan, cane, and greenery. I literally gasped out loud when I walked into the room and saw it all set up.
Our sisters, Jacqueline and Megan, MC’d the evening, which I highly recommend if you want to keep the flow of the dinner going, especially if there are a lot of speeches. They did the cutest, funniest job introducing each person who made a speech and gave everyone their own walk-up song 😂. The night was a blur of so many sweet words, belly laughs, and happy tears. There was a slideshow of photos of Johnny and me growing up, a poem written and recited by my mom, and so many toasts and speeches by our dearest and oldest friends/family.
The Welcome Party
After our rehearsal dinner, we spread out to the bar and patio area and nearly everyone who flew in from out of town came for a cocktail and to say hi. It was honestly the only point in the weekend where I felt truly overwhelmed, because I kept turning around and saying hello to someone else who had flown in and I was just so overjoyed to see!! In hindsight, I am SO glad we had both the pickleball party and the post-rehearsal dinner welcome party because they allowed both Johnny and I (and our families) to say hi and speak with 99% of our wedding guests before the wedding day. That made the actual wedding day much less stressful because Johnny and I didn’t feel the need to say hi to and actually “welcome” all of our guests on the big day– we could just enjoy our time with them!
The welcome party’s special touches included a steel drummer, a taco bar setup, a signature margarita, and then glow in the dark putt putt no the greens. It felt like the perfect blend of Johnny and me, and we will be forever grateful to the McNitts for kicking off the weekend with the warmest energy that made us feel so loved.
Outfit Details
Dress: Victoria Beckham (also here) // Purse: vintage Lilly Pulitzer // Tweed Jacket: old Teggy French // Earrings: The Kemble Shop // Shoes: Stuart Weitzman // Dad’s Blazer: Belk (similar here) // Dad’s Pants: Vintage Lilly Pulitzer // Mom’s Earrings: The Kemble Shop