The Best Rehearsal Wedding Dinner Centerpieces and Table Decor

A lot of the focus of planning a wedding goes into the ceremony and reception. It makes sense that brides and grooms concentrate on decorating their wedding day from start to finish, but there are other events that deserve your attention too.

That includes your rehearsal dinner!

Creating rehearsal dinner centerpieces and decorating your rehearsal dinner space is a great way to set the tone ahead of your wedding day. It doesn’t have to cost a ton of money, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time either.

Here are some rehearsal dinner table ideas that are sure to elevate your wedding rehearsal dinner space.

Simple Wedding Rehearsal Centerpieces in a Restaurant With Green Chairs and Patterned Carpet: Covet House

Work With Your Space

When creating your rehearsal dinner centerpieces, start by thinking about what’s already in the space where you’re holding your gathering. Especially if it’s a restaurant, as restaurants often have their own ambiance. You may not have to do a lot of decorating because you can simply enjoy the environment the restaurant has to offer.

Outdoor rehearsal dinners may not need a lot of decorating, either. Simple glass votive candle holders and cheesecloth table runners make tables special without taking away from the natural beauty of the outdoors.

Rehearsal Dinner Centerpieces With Peonies in Bud Vases: Peppermint and Co.

Simplify Flower Arrangements

If the bulk of your flower budget went to your wedding ceremony and reception, that’s okay! Although eye-catching florals can look stunning, smaller, simpler rehearsal dinner table ideas look lovely too.

Instead of full-sized floral arrangements, decorate tables with bud vases that hold just a few flowers. It’s okay to choose budget flowers too. Choose seasonal flowers or affordable blooms, like carnations, that can dress up your space without a lot of effort.

Potted Plant Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Centerpieces in Terracotta Pots: Kara’s Party Ideas

Decorate With Greenery

You don’t have to decorate with flowers if you don’t want to! Rehearsal dinner centerpieces look just as lovely when you decorate with greenery instead.

Sprigs of live greenery can liven up a table when they are placed in ceramic vases. Think glossy green leaves at a tropical wedding or herbs at a farm wedding. Potted plants are a fun way to decorate too! Use a combination of rectangular boxes, pots, and bowls full of greenery that can be repurposed or taken home by wedding guests and enjoyed.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Centerpiece With Cricut Paper Flowers: Lovely Indeed

DIY Details

DIY details are welcome at weddings, but they are especially welcome at rehearsal dinners. That’s true if you’re on a strict budget or if you just want to simplify the decorating process.

Place cards don’t have to be written on by a professional calligrapher, and menus don’t have to be professionally printed. It’s okay to handwrite place cards and table numbers yourself, and it’s okay to print rehearsal dinner menus at home. Make paper flowers for tables and create a DIY sign. Not only does it make things easier and more affordable, but your guests will also appreciate the handcrafted rehearsal dinner table ideas you created.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Table With Neon Green Chairs and DIY Patterned Tablecloth: Ruffled Blog

Incorporate Colors and Patterns

Although ceremony and reception spaces look lovely with color and patterns, you have a unique opportunity to go bold with colorful rehearsal dinner table ideas and patterns that would be too much for your actual wedding day.

Charger plates are a great way to add some color and patterns to your rehearsal dinner space! Choose a plate with a geometric pattern if you like modern designs, or plates with oversized monstera leaves for a more natural touch. Hot pink napkins, bright tablecloths, and colorful flowers are all fun ways to incorporate more playful designs into your décor.

Themed Rehearsal Dinner Tablescape With Eggs, Rolling Pins, and Sunflowers: Greenvelope

Create a Themed Tablescape

Concentrating on a theme is a quick and easy way to narrow down all the options you have for your rehearsal dinner centerpieces. Don’t think you have to match the theme of your wedding, either. Your rehearsal dinner is a fun way to play around with a theme you love that didn’t make the cut for your big day.

Honor local farm culture with table décor that features fresh eggs, rolling pins, and slab tree slices. Create romantic tablescapes with Bridgerton-themed décor, make it all about your travels with maps and suitcase centerpieces, or showcase your love of reading by decorating tables with leather-bound novels and torn pages from old books.

Small Retro-Style Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Tables Decorated With Balloons: The Sweetest Occasion

Have Fun With Party Décor

It’s fun to have a formal wedding with upscale decorations, but when it comes to rehearsal dinner table ideas, why not have more fun with party décor!

For example, balloons might not be what you had in mind at your wedding, but creating a balloon arch and putting balloons on tables could be a fun way to celebrate your upcoming nuptials at your rehearsal dinner! Personalize hanging pennant bunting in colors that match your theme and play around with party streamers. It’s a great way to have fun before a more formal wedding celebration.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Centerpieces With Pampas Grass and Candles: Kayla Esparza

Remix Things From Your Wedding Day

More and more weddings are going green. That often means finding ways to reuse or repurpose items from your wedding day after it’s all over, but who said you can’t repurpose items before your wedding day!

Find ways to remix things from your wedding day as part of your rehearsal dinner centerpieces. For example, if you're using pampas grass in floral arrangements on your wedding day, use them to create mini dried floral arrangements at your rehearsal dinner. Ribbed glass vases can hold flowers one night and candles the next, while wicker décor can be used as charger plates at your rehearsal dinner and hung on the wall as a photobooth backdrop at your reception.

Table Garland Made Out of Old Black and White Pictures: Intimate Weddings

Include Things Guests Can Interact With

Rehearsal dinners often come with smaller guest lists. They’re more intimate affairs with those closest to you, which means you’ve got a great opportunity to incorporate rehearsal dinner table ideas that they can interact with.

Photo rehearsal dinner centerpieces are sure to be appreciated by your closest friends and family. You can frame photos or include small photo books for guests to flip through. Create a fun display on a drink table or set out games on tables that guests can play.

Your wedding day takes a lot of preparation and planning. Just don't forget about your rehearsal dinner! With the right rehearsal dinner centerpieces and décor, you have an opportunity to warmly welcome your closest guests and set the tone for your big day.