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By Worth Collective
# Rehearsal Dinner Dressing When You're Expecting The night before someone else's wedding isn't the time to experiment with a new silhouette. Rehearsal ...
The night before someone else's wedding isn't the time to experiment with a new silhouette. Rehearsal dinners have their own dress code puzzle—more formal than a regular dinner out, less formal than the ceremony itself, and somehow expected to photograph beautifully for the inevitable "night before" recap on Instagram.
Add a bump to the equation and the stakes feel higher. You want to look like yourself, feel comfortable through a potentially long evening of toasts and mingling, and not accidentally upstage the bride (or look like you raided the clearance rack at a store you'd never normally shop).
Here's how to nail it.
Rehearsal dinner dress codes are notoriously vague. "Dressy casual" at a rooftop restaurant means something completely different than "dressy casual" at a private room in a steakhouse or a backyard with string lights.
If the invitation doesn't spell it out, look up the venue. A quick scroll through tagged photos tells you more than any dress code description. Are people in midi dresses and heels? Jeans and blazers? Floor-length everything?
For Winter 2026 rehearsal dinners, expect a mix of indoor venues with cranked heat and transitional moments—coat checks, waiting for cars, stepping outside for photos. Layers matter, but not the bulky kind. A velvet blazer over a fitted dress works harder than a chunky cardigan you'll want to ditch within five minutes.
Rehearsal dinners typically involve a lot of sitting—at dinner, during toasts, through slideshows of the couple's relationship timeline. Whatever you wear needs to look as good seated as standing.
This rules out a few popular options:
Skip bodycon minis. They ride up when you sit and create an awkward tug-and-adjust situation all night.
Be cautious with voluminous maxis. Gorgeous standing, but pooling fabric around your feet when seated can read messy in photos.
The winner for most body types and bump stages: A midi-length dress with structure at the shoulders or neckline and flow through the middle. This silhouette photographs well from any angle, moves with you, and doesn't require constant management.
Empire waists and wrap styles remain reliable for a reason—they define your shape above the bump without constricting anything below. If you're in your third trimester, look for styles with a bit of stretch or adjustability. A too-tight bodice that fit at the fitting room mirror might feel unbearable after appetizers.
Rehearsal dinners run long. You're not just walking down an aisle and sitting in a pew—you're standing for cocktail hour, sitting for dinner, standing again for photos, sitting for dessert, and possibly relocating to a different space entirely.
Fabrics that breathe: Crepe, jersey, cotton blends, and lighter-weight ponte hold up without trapping heat. Important when pregnancy has already raised your internal thermostat.
Fabrics that wrinkle: Linen (charming for summer, but you'll look rumpled by the main course), silk charmeuse (shows every crease from the car ride), thin rayon (wrinkles and clings).
Fabrics that photograph rich: Velvet, heavier crepe, and textured knits catch light beautifully in the low-lit restaurant settings typical of winter rehearsal dinners. If photos matter to you—and they probably do, since the couple's photographer often captures candids—a fabric with some depth reads more intentional than something flat and matte.
The unspoken rule at rehearsal dinners: complement the couple's aesthetic without competing with it. For wedding parties, this sometimes means coordinating with whatever the bride chose. For guests, it means reading the room.
Safe bets that still feel elevated:
What to avoid: white, cream, or anything that could read as bridal adjacent. Also skip neon or overly casual prints unless you know for certain the vibe is ultra-relaxed.
If you're in the wedding party and the bride has opinions about what you wear, ask directly. Most brides appreciate the question, and it saves you from buying something that gets vetoed at the last minute.
Rehearsal dinner venues vary wildly in their floor situations. Cobblestones outside a historic venue, thick carpet in a private dining room, polished concrete at a trendy restaurant—each one demands different footwear math.
Block heels with ankle straps give you height without the wobble. Ballet flats with some structure (not the collapsible kind) look polished for seated dinners where your feet won't be on display. Heeled boots—especially in winter—solve the indoor/outdoor temperature problem while reading intentional.
Whatever you choose, break them in before the event. Your feet are already doing extra work carrying a growing human. Blisters by the second course will make the rest of the night miserable.
The best rehearsal dinner outfit works for every phase of the evening: standing around making small talk, sitting for a multi-course meal, posing for photos, and potentially transitioning to an after-party.
Think of it like a costume change without the actual changing. Choose pieces that photograph well but feel like yourself. Accessories can do heavy lifting here—a statement earring, a clutch with some texture, a bracelet stack that catches the light.
You're not dressing for a single moment. You're dressing for an entire evening of celebrating someone you love, while growing someone you'll love even more. That deserves an outfit that makes you feel like the version of yourself you want to remember when you look back at these photos.