Rehearsal Dinner Rentals: What to Rent and How Much

In the Chicago area, the rehearsal dinner is the one event of the weekend where you can sit with everyone. It is smaller, less formal and often held at a restaurant, a family home or a rented room in the same suburb as the ceremony. This guide covers what to rent when the dinner is at home or in a space without furniture, and what to ask when it's at a restaurant.

Pick the format first

What to rent

Seating. One chair per guest, plus two spares for late arrivals. A casual wood chair suits the mood: a cross-back, bentwood or Windsor chair keeps the look warm and different from your wedding. If you plan to use the same style at the reception, consider renting the full set once and flipping it. See mixing chair styles for ideas.

Tables. Eight-foot banquet tables seat 8 to 10; 60-inch rounds seat 8. For 24 guests, three 8-foot tables placed end to end, or three rounds.

Linens. Floor-length is optional at this event. A lap-length cloth, a runner on a bare table or a neutral cloth with a cloth napkin looks relaxed. Use the tablecloth size chart.

Dinnerware and glassware. Many restaurants and caterers include these. For a home dinner, count a dinner plate, salad plate, forks, knife, water and wine glass per guest, and a dessert fork or spoon if you serve dessert. See dinnerware for dinner parties at home.

Extras. A small bar table, a welcome sign table, a slideshow screen if you plan toasts with photos, and lighting for evenings that run late.

Where rehearsal dinners are held

• A restaurant private room: the restaurant provides tables, chairs, plates and glassware. You usually rent nothing, or only decor.
• A home or backyard: you rent almost everything. Read the backyard wedding rental checklist for the tent and power side.
• A park district or community room: furniture varies by facility. Ask what's included, and whether you can bring in outside caterers and rentals.
• The wedding venue: sometimes the venue offers the night before for a lower rate. Ask whether the chairs and tables stay in place between events.

Layout and sightlines

Seat the couple and both sets of parents where toasts are easiest to hear. A long head table at one end, or two tables at right angles, lets speakers face the room. Leave 36 to 42 inches behind each chair so servers can pass.

The room sizes are rules of thumb at 10 to 12 square feet per guest; add room for a bar and buffet.

Chicago weekend notes

Friday evenings in Chicago and the western suburbs bring traffic, especially on the expressways, so build a buffer for deliveries and for guests driving in. If the dinner is downtown, ask the building about loading dock hours and elevator reservations. If it is in a suburb, ask your village or park district whether the room can be set up the afternoon before. Out-of-town guests often arrive hungry and tired, so keep the room easy to find, with a sign at the entrance and a small coat rack in colder months.

A good rule is to treat the rehearsal dinner as a dress rehearsal for your rentals. Notice which chairs are comfortable for a two-hour dinner, which linen color photographs well in your light, and whether the table width leaves enough room for plates and candles. Then adjust the wedding order if you need to.

Timeline for the weekend

If the same rental company handles both events, ask whether you can keep rehearsal chairs for the wedding and avoid two deliveries. Rehearsal dinner timing is also a good moment to settle how to flip a ceremony to reception.

Plan the whole weekend

Book a free 15-minute seating call and we will map the rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception together, or request a quote for the full weekend.