Where for Ceremony Rehearsal?

Every rehearsal I have ever been to has been done at the ceremony location. In my opinion, it wouldn't make much sense to have it somewhere else because you wouldn't be able to copy the exact layout of the ceremony location to practice how long it takes to walk down the aisle or where the bridal party or officiant need to stand. Our venue told us about a month in advance if we could have our rehearsal the night before the wedding. Our backup plan was to have the bridesmaids and groomsmen practice very quickly the morning of the wedding. My husband and I would've just winged it or had someone fill in as the bride/groom when one of us practiced.

We will be doing rehearsal the evening before the wedding at the venue the ceremony will take place at. That way everyone knows exactly when and where they are lining up and which door they will be walking through so there is no confusion the evening of the wedding, and there is no chance FH and I will see eachother prior to walking down the aisle. If your venue is not available the evening before, I would contact them to see if there is a 30-60 min window of availability during the week prior. The rehearsal doesn’t necessarily have to take place the night before. And even if some members of the wedding party are traveling from out of town and cannot make an earlier rehearsal day, the rest of the wedding party (or wedding coordinator, if you have one) can instruct them what to do.

Most rehearsals take place at the ceremony location so that you can get a feel for the layout and practice in the space. Our venue's policy is to give all couples a 1-hour block of time at the venue the day prior to their wedding to use for the rehearsal.

Ours was at our venue on Friday evening before our Saturday wedding. Every wedding I have ever been a part of has had the rehearsal at the venue the day before.

Our venue was booked the Friday before our wedding, so we had our rehearsal on Thursday. Not ideal, but it worked and our venue had a unique setup so a rehearsal was necessary. If you can’t use your venue and the layout is pretty basic, I would just skip the rehearsal opposed to having it somewhere else. Most people can find their way down an aisle with minimal instruction.

Most do the rehearsal at the ceremony venue. That helps them time the music/walks accordingly.

Our venue can't schedule our rehearsal until one month before. We're having a Friday wedding, though, so I'm fairly confident that no one will book something for Thursday! Backup will probably be my in-laws' house.

Your ceremony space should be hosting your rehearsal. I don't know your type of venue for your ceremony but most coordinators of those venues will help you set that up. I would ask your ceremony spot when you would be able to do your rehearsal well ahead of time to get it on their schedule and be able to plan accordingly.