If your bride and groom-to-be love everything red, white, and bubbly, rethink tradition! Why not plan the rehearsal dinner at a unique location surrounded by wine. A winery or vineyard is the perfect backdrop for your celebration of love and all things wine.
A rehearsal dinner at a winery is a fantastic icebreaker for the entire bridal party, close friends and family and by party's end, you'll all be swirling, swishing and sipping like a sommelier.
It is also the perfect opportunity to get creative and channel your winery theme with our fun, cost effective decor and DIY's; wine bottle table numbers, a cork seating chart and even a cake made of cheese!
Photo Credit: Photography Hill
A Beautiful Setting
One benefit of hosting at a vineyard or winery is the beauty of the setting. Vines, wine barrels, rustic wood and natural greenery abound.
This rehearsal dinner was hosted at the beautiful Coopers Hall in Portland. A fantastic open space nestled amongst aging barrels of wine.
Rustic wood tables, tanks and both bottled and tap wines all provided the perfect setting for a stunning meal and tasting menu.
Greet Guests
For an afternoon of wine tasting its best to start light with a champagne or a refreshing glass of rose. We set up a welcome barrel with a fragrant rose for guests as they walked in, softening the barrel with a Pink Hydrangea Garland.
This was also where the brides friend was asked to be bridesmaid with a very special bottle of wine in a Personalized Be My Bridesmaid Wine Tote Bag.
We served the rose in But First Wine Stemless Plastic Glasses on a Grey Diagonal Wood Plank Tray. After all wine is the perfect start to the festivities!
As guests took the first sip of rose they were able to find their seat with my Wine Cork Seating Chart.
Tasting & Nibbles
Before sitting down to dinner additional wines were provided to taste on another barrel tasting station.
A Personalized Stained Wood Keepsake Box with Lid doubled both as a decorative call out to the happy couple's upcoming wedding and as a gift for holding wedding mementos.
We had a lot of fun with this tasting station, providing a humorous ice breaker. Guests were able to take a tasting glass with a Funny Sayings Wine Tag.
During this initial tasting, nibbles or hors d'oeuvres, were served on gorgeous Large and Medium Copper Foil Polka Dot Treat Trays with matching White With Rose Gold Foil Dots Luncheon Napkins. The table was accented with a Rose Gold Candle Holder Set.
The larger tray was placed on a Rustic Centerpiece Riser Set for visual interest. We filled the tray with Bottle Corks and placed Rose Gold Foil Appetizer Paper Plates on top with a selection of antipasto. Figs, olives, bruschetta, cheeses and tomatoes are the perfect start to the evening.
The bride and groom were also gifted with a His & Hers Beer Caps & Wine Corks Shadow Box. Good use was made of this over the afternoon before guests sat down to dinner!
Take a Seat
Once dinner was ready to be served, guests were asked to take their seats at tables set up in front of a stunning wall of wine barrels.
Each table had a simple runner of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Garlands that extended the length of the table and to the floor below.
On top of the eucalyptus a rustic DIY Wine Crate Centerpiece with a wine bottle as a table number.
The blush florals and grapes make a stunning centerpiece against the copper in the table setting and natural wood of the table.
At each end of the table we placed a Rose Gold Candle Set with Ivory Taper Candles for mood lighting as the evening progressed.
Tip: For those hosting at a winery with other events taking place in the space, use a reservation sticker on a wine bottle. Guests can even drink from this bottle and seal it with a Cheers Gold Bottle Stopper.
The Table Setting
Each place setting was layered with a mix of white, copper and natural woods. A modern, geometric charger, followed by a White Elegance Premium Plastic Dinner Plate,a Rose Gold Foil Paper Dinner Plate,a White Premium Plastic Dessert Plate with Rose Gold Edging and a small wooden appetizer plate.
Each plate was for a course in a delicious wine-and-food pairing menu.
Wines were also served in a different glass for each course. A Copper Stem Champagne Flute, Premium Clear Crystal Plastic Wine Glass, Plastic Wine Glass and a Clear Stemless Plastic Wine Glass.
On the top plate, the first course doubled as a place card for each guest. Small flags were placed in a slice of goats cheese and served with crackers and fig spread. A Mini Tasting Plastic Spoon is used to serve the spread. We used Premium Metallic Rose Gold Cutlery for the remaining courses.
A Show stopping Cheese Wheel Cake
A unique winery setting deserves a unique and non-traditional cake. A beautiful tiered version of stacked cheese wheels and slices. Most wine connoisseurs love a good cheeseboard, and a cheese cake is a clever way to offer something for the savory souls and it of course it pairs well with the wine.
Tips:
The cheeses together should achieve a balanced cheeseboard, so you should include at least a hard, a soft and a blue cheese.The bottom layer will need to be strong to support the weight of the upper layers, so a boxed cheese or waxed hard cheese is best. Provide chutneys and crackers for your guests to enjoy the cheeses with.
We decorated with complementary fruits, figs and grapes and incorporated touches of greenery and berries for additional pops of color. The Gold Cheers Cake Topper slides into the top cheeses perfectly and encourages a toast to the happy couple to be.
For the sweeter tooth guests, a Strawberries & Cream Cheesecake was served in a wine glass. This easy no-bake dessert was the perfect size for the end of a delicious meal.
The layers of cheesecake base, filling and fruit pop in the transparent wine glasses against the wood of the barrel and Copper Taper Candle Holders.
At the end of the evening we sent guests home with wine themed treats in a Large Thank You Kraft Paper Gift Bag. There was even room in these to take home a few of their favorite bottles!
