casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

we are going to have approx 40 ppl to accomodate at our rehearsal dinner and we wanted to have something fairly causal.

after FH's parents told us they would take care of it they now decided that we shouldnt have one at all AHHHH

but they ahve said that htey will give us a lump sum of money to use towards it. we had thought that whatever it was they were taking care of it and now this isnt the case...

we dont want anything cheesey and we are having a black tie optional affair the next night, so we just want something casual and relaxed also it is in FEBRUARY!

PS--we cant have it at my house because my parents are divorced and it would be a VERY uncomfortable situation....(FHs fam is from out of town)

TIA for any suggestions

PS--- i also have to keep in mind that my little bros are 11 and 14

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

We had ours at Dave & Busters ... it was buffet & the food/service was excellent and the room was nice & large ...

The adults enjoyed and there was a good distraction for the kids (we had all of our nieces & nephews attend).

The attendees were really immediate family & OOT relatives ...

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

great idea wendy! do you have any recollection of how many people you had and if you dont mind....how much it was? did you include alcohol as well?

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

In order to get the large room we wanted we had to guarantee 40 people but we didn't care because we wanted that room and we ended up with 35 or so people.

The buffets start at $16.99/pp but that did not include alcohol (unlimited soda, coffee & tea was $1.95pp - updated).

We ended up adding on all kinds of stuff (shrimp cocktail, cookies & brownies, etc) and it was up to $28/pp. We also got game cards for the kids (at a discount) ...

All in all I believe the entire night was about $1400 (there was a lot of alcohol consumed!) ...

They did a really nice job - I think we had two or three servers in the room who were really on top of everything ...

You could also play whatever music you wanted (or use what was on their satellite) and there was VCR/DVD and a big screen.

I guess I've gushed enough, but we were really pleased.

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

This is a sample of the $16.99 menu:

The Buffet is called the Alexander Buffet and it includes:

1-CHOICE OF House or Caesar Salad
2- Lemon Crumb Baked Salmon w/ a tarragon sauce on the side
3-CHOICE OF
Italian Roasted Rosemary Chicken (on the bone)
Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken Breast w/ chardonay herb cream sauce on the side (boneless)
Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast w/ marinara sauce on the side (boneless)
4-Linguini Alfredo
5-Garden Vegetable Medley
6-Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
7-Garlic Herb Roasted Potatoes
8-Fresh Baked Rolls w/ butter

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

thanks!!

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

Well...a lot of the things i've read suggested that whatever your reception will be, (in formaility or cuisine) that your rehearsal dinner can be the opposite...or very different. This is a nice way to mix it up I think. I would suggest a BBQ style or something...but February..not so much.
You could rent out a bar...Croxly ales in Frankyln Square or Rockville Center does that...for parties..and the FOOD IS AMAZING. I attended my Aunts Birthday there when i was under age..so your younger family is no problem either. It's a nice bar atmosphere, and for those drinking..they have a HUGE selection of imported beers. IT's as classy as bars get on LI.

hope this helps a bit,

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

We're having a pizza party at our house for about 30 people. We're just going to have some passed hors duerves, meats and cheeses, salad and pizza. We'll also have stuff for dessert and have a variety of beers and wine. We're attempting to do it for around or under $500. We're also getting our furniture the second week of September so it will probably be the first time we'll really be having people over. I know you said that you can't do it at the house, but many places have back rooms and I doubt it would be too much money.

ETS: Our plans changed since I made this post. Now instead of pizza, we're going out for brunch. It's $19.95 pp and includes appetizers, choice of entree, mud pie for dessert and all the mimosas, champagne and bloody mary's you want. It was a way better deal than I was able to find anywhere for dinner.
PS- I live in White Plains, but IU;'m sure there are nice brunch places in LI.

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

bump info about dave and busters

Re: casual rehearsal dinner ideas??

I think you should steer clear from the type of food you are having the next day too...maybe consider doing something like a Japanese hibachi if your wedding menu is Italian, for ex. My nieces (ages 9 and 11) got a huge kick out of it when we took them to Gasho (in Commack area). I definitely think the Dave and Buster's idea sounds really cool, although I have never been there.