Guide to Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitation Templates

Searching for the perfect wedding rehearsal dinner invitations? Why not make them yourself?

DIY invitations are becoming popular, as more couples desire a more personalized approach to wedding stationery and printed items. The good news is that you don’t have to be an artist or a designer to create stunning invitations. With the right rehearsal dinner invitation template, a step-by-step guide and expert design tips, it’s simple and even fun to create your own rehearsal dinner invitations.

floral table centerpiece

How to Create DIY Rehearsal Dinner Invitations in 7 Steps

Use a designer rehearsal dinner invitation template from Shutterfly to create stunning invitations for your dinner party before the big day. Here are the simple steps for a DIY rehearsal dinner invitation:

  1. Choose a rehearsal dinner invitation template. With countless templates to choose from, the key is to find one that fits your level of creativity as well as the style or theme you’re going for. Pick your favorite template and click the Personalize button to start designing.
  2. Add unique text. Use the form to enter your dinner party details.
  3. Modify the font. Pick the style, size, color and location of the font.
  4. Upload an image or photograph. If you picked a photo invitation template, Shutterfly® lets you upload the image of your choice.
  5. Pick the type of paper. DIY rehearsal dinner invitations come in Signature or Pearl Shimmer cardstock.
  6. Tailor the trim. Choose a trim such as rounded, scallop or ticket that goes with your overall design scheme.
  7. Complete your design. Further customize your invitations by choosing colors and patterns for the back of the invitation and the envelope.

The Complete Guide to Making Your Own Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Invitations and templates may differ, but our expanded guide below should lead you through the entire design process with ease.

Get started:

Things You’ll Need for Your Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Have the following dinner party information or items handy to ensure a smooth invitation-making process.

  • Dinner details: Before you can start the design process, you will need to enter the details of the dinner party. Confirm the date, time (start and end times), location and address of the venue or home. You will also need to know the RSVP date and the name and contact information for the host or the person in charge of collecting the RSVPs.
contemporary purple and white wedding rehearsal dinner invitation

To make your own wedding rehearsal invitations, you’ll need to have your dinner details, a chosen theme or style and your color scheme.

  • Theme or style. Your invitation design will be influenced by the theme or style of the dinner party. A rustic theme, for example, might inspire natural elements, organic textures and season-inspired motifs. Don’t have a theme? No problem! You can also create a design based on the formality or style of the event. If you’re throwing a casual BBQ, for example, your BBQ rehearsal dinner invitations might feature loose script and an informal photograph of the bride and groom.
  • Dinner party color scheme. With your theme or style picked out, the next thing you will need to confirm is the dinner party color palette. DIY rehearsal dinner invitations instantly look unique and personalized with a custom color scheme. Pick one or two main colors and add a third neutral hue to complete the combination.
  • Final guest list. While the guest list does not affect your design, it does influence the number of invitations you will need to order, address and mail. Confirming the final guest list before the design process will ensure that you stay within your budget and send out the invitations on time.

Expanded Guide to Personalized Wedding Rehearsal Invitations and Templates

With the prep work out of the way, you’re now ready to start creating your own rehearsal dinner invitations. Here’s our complete seven-step process to designing custom wedding rehearsal invitations without sacrificing style or quality.

Find the perfect rehearsal dinner invitation template.

Shutterfly carries a wide range of stationery designs categorized by theme, style and custom features such as the ability to upload your own design or image. Your goal is to find the perfect balance — an invitation that complements your dinner theme or style and that also matches your DIY skill level. Basic DIY templates feature ready-to-order designs with the option to enter unique text, while the more flexible templates allow you to customize nearly every aspect of the invitation.

screenshot of Shutterfly wedding rehearsal dinner template categories.

While hunting for the perfect wedding rehearsal dinner invitations, consider the theme, style and DIY skill level of each template. Find one that complements all three to ensure a fun and simple design process.

To find the one, explore all your options or narrow your search by theme, style, format, size, etc. When you settle on a template, click the Personalize button to start the design process.

Enter dinner party details.

Once you press the Personalize button, a pop-up menu will appear prompting you to enter important information about your dinner party. Since you prepared this information ahead of time, you can now type it in. Take your time and double-check the information for spelling and accuracy.

Customize the font.

Since Shutterfly® offers designer templates, the artist of your template has chosen a font style and color combination to match the original design. You can certainly go with the default font and color scheme, or you can customize the font to match your unique color palette and the style of the dinner party.

Select an appropriate image or photograph.

Many invitation templates allow couples to upload custom photos. With Shutterfly®, you can get your photos from your computer or other locations such as Facebook, Flickr, Instagram or the Shutterfly® Art Library. The goal is to pick a photograph that goes with the theme, style or color scheme of the invitation.

Once it’s uploaded, you can further edit the photograph by moving the image to fit the frame and add filters. Every design element you add should complement and enhance the overall design.

Pick your preferred paper type.

Does paper matter? Yes! First, you want to make sure you’re getting high-quality paper, because anything less will make your invitations look cheap. Shutterfly® invitation templates can be printed in Signature or Pearl Shimmer. The Signature paper is high-quality 120 lb. cardstock, so you can’t go wrong with that choice. If you want a hint of shimmer (think: fairytale and fantasy themes), the 110 lb. Pearl Shimmer cardstock is a great choice.

Impress with trim.

contemporary, floral wedding rehearsal dinner invitation

Final custom design features such as a colored envelope or a pattern on the back of the invitation help add to the beauty and style of the invitation.

It’s surprising how much the trim option you choose can add to the style and look of printable rehearsal dinner invitations. Think beyond square or rounded corners and consider some unique and lovely options such as bracket, ticket and scallop edges. Find the one that goes best with your theme or the formality of the event.

Complete the design.

Shutterfly® allows couples to customize the back of the invitation and the envelope. Whether you want the back of your rehearsal dinner invitation to feature a pattern or you want to add a slip-in liner to the invitation envelope, it’s easy to complete and customize your stationery by picking these final features in the template. You can also choose to receive blank envelopes, or you can have Shutterfly® address them for you!

Wedding Planner Tips for DIY Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

For expert design tips, we turned to seasoned wedding planner Rosemary Hattenbach. As owner and creative director of Rosemary Events, Rosemary’s full service approach to weddings includes overseeing everything from menu planning to printed items such as invitations.

Rosemary offers these tips for creating stunning invitations:

  • Consider seasonal inspiration. An easy way to come up with a color scheme and look for the dinner party invitations is to think about the season. “I’m not a big believer in themes, so we usually look to the colors and textures of the season,” says Rosemary. For a fall dinner party, for example, you could pick a vivid color palette and natural fibers. In addition to the time of year, Rosemary suggests getting inspired by the venue.
brown and olive brown wedding rehearsal dinner invitation template

For DIY wedding rehearsal dinner invitations, couples can look to the season for inspiration such as colors, textures and motifs. In a natural color palette of brown, olive green and white, Rehearsal Picture Brown reflects the fall season and showcases a custom image of the bride and groom to create the perfect dinner party invitation.

  • Get inspired by the location. Rosemary and her team love creating events that are influenced by the geographical area where the party takes place. This means planning a celebration that reflects the local tastes and sights, while also staying true to the tastes and sensibilities of the couple.
  • Less is more. Even if you’re in love with a specific theme, it’s always best to keep it simple, says Rosemary. “Clean designs with a signature seasonal element give a hint of the season or theme without hitting people over the head with a theme,” she says.

Rehearsal Dinner Evite Etiquette

Is it proper to send evites for the rehearsal dinner?

Short answer: no. In general, it’s not proper etiquette to send out rehearsal dinner evites (invitations by email or social media). The only exception is when you simply don’t have enough time to create and mail your own paper invitations. To avoid running into this problem, read our timeline for When to Send Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations.

If you must send out evites, send them for last-minute dinner parties or reserve them for informal wedding-related celebrations such as showers and bachelorette parties.

Personalized DIY Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitations and Templates

DIY wedding rehearsal dinner invitations do more than invite your guests to your intimate gathering; they become memorable keepsakes. Shutterfly makes this process easy by providing you with flexible templates, designer invitations and a rich Art Library.

The dinner before the big day is nearly here. Invite and excite your guests with custom rehearsal dinner invitations everyone will fall in love with.