Friday night truly set the tone for our entire weekend. We had our actual rehearsal at the church and then headed to the Newport Beach House for the dinner with the wedding party. At 7:30pm, we opened it up to everyone staying in town for a welcome reception! For future brides, if budget allows, I highly suggest having a welcome party! Jon and I got to chat with so many of our guests and catch up so we didn’t feel the pressure to talk with everyone at the actual wedding. When people tell you your wedding day will fly by, they aren’t exaggerating! By having the welcome party, we were really able to kick off the wedding weekend with a bang!

VENUE: NEWPORT BEACH HOUSE

SPEECHES

I highly, highly suggest doing speeches at your rehearsal dinner! Not in place of the wedding speeches, but additional speeches. Don’t let anyone tell you that no one wants to hear speeches… it’s YOUR day! And in my opinion, speeches are some of the more special part of a wedding! Hearing your loved ones talk about your love is so amazing. At our rehearsal, Jon’s mom, Jon’s sister and my brother gave speeches. They all did an amazing job and it’s something we will remember forever.

PHOTOS

Your rehearsal night is also a perfect time to get some awesome photos! It also gives you time to bond with your photographers and videographers so you get any camera shy jitters out the day before!! Here are some of our favorites.