How Do You Plan the Perfect Rehearsal Dinner? Hospitality Experts Share Their Advice | WDP Ep 78

🎧 Listen to learn:

• How to choose the right rehearsal dinner venue
• Why couples are combining rehearsal dinners and welcome parties
• The benefits of hosting wedding events at a restaurant venue
• Current trends in rehearsal dinner food and beverage service
• How personalized menus and signature cocktails enhance guest experience
• Tips for creating a memorable wedding weekend celebration

Rehearsal dinners have evolved far beyond a simple pre-wedding meal. In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, Sonja Babich, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, is joined by Lara Burnap, Editorial Director of Iron Diamond Media, for a conversation with Brea Durocher, Special Events Manager, and Summer Cielak, Event Sales Manager, of Culinary Dropout, a Fox Restaurant Concepts venue known for its chef-driven cuisine, energetic atmosphere and exceptional hospitality.

Together, they share expert insights into planning memorable rehearsal dinners, welcome parties and wedding weekend events that leave a lasting impression on guests. From selecting the perfect venue and menu to creating a relaxed, welcoming environment for family and friends, Brea and Summer explain how today's couples are prioritizing meaningful guest experiences over traditional formalities.

The conversation also explores why restaurant venues have become a popular option for wedding-related celebrations, how customization can elevate an event and the hospitality trends they're seeing throughout the industry. Whether you're planning an intimate gathering or a larger celebration, this episode is full of practical advice to help couples kick off their wedding weekend with confidence.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Wedding Day Podcast with your host, Sonia Babich, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, a leading wedding resource featuring seven localized wedding brands across the country.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Hi everybody, Sonia here with Wedding Day Podcast. We are here at the lovely Culinary Dropout here in Tempe. And my co-host today is Lara Burnath, my editorial director of Iron Diamond of all seven brands. And we are sitting here actually with a team from Culinary Dropout. They are actually our hosts tonight for our spring summer 2026 issue release party for Arizona Bride. And we're sitting here with Summer and Brea. And they are the event side and the marketing side for this restaurant. Oh not restaurant, venue restaurant. But it is like the food is phenomenal. Like Lara just ordered another salad. I did. I got a second of the chicken chops. Every year I highly recommend it. No tomatoes.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Super popular. It's so delicious.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

So you two have actually started like technically from the ground up to get into these roles. Yeah. You were a server, and were you a host somewhere?

SPEAKER_01 1:04

So actually, kind of vice versa. I was a server just at a different location in our Phoenix location. Um Andrea was a server or a host actually, specifically at this venue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

This was actually my first restaurant job ever. So back when I was 19, started up at the host desk and kind of worked up from there. Did you want to? Did you both want to work in hospitality?

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Yeah, so honestly, I was just kind of familiar with it with my older sister. She was in events. So I saw that and I was like, I want to be like her. And so she though was very specifically to golf venues. And I was out here for school, they're all back in the Midwest and Wisconsin, and started working for Fox and fell in love with it, and then saw that uh they really promote like internal promotions. So I thought that was really appealing and just kind of made my way through that.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

So let's say before we dive in more with just your experience and venues and all that. So Fox restaurants, how many restaurants does Fox have? Because they have quite a few.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

A lot, right? A lot of these.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

So I mean we have at least probably, I would say, like seven culinary dropouts in like the Phoenix Valley alone. Um, and then we also have locations though, and other concepts called like the Henry, Olive and Ivy, Blanco, all throughout the US, actually. So we have locations in North Carolina, um, Texas.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

Yeah. Okay, so you've got your bases covered. I just kind of shared like the chain, and then it all started here in Arizona, though. Yeah. That's crazy. Was very well respected. Yeah, it's a Fox restaurant, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

So and then you have venues as well, correct? So our venues are out of our own restaurants. Okay. So uh, like the showcase room that we're hosting in this evening, that's technically a part of culinary dropout. So um, we'll kind of touch base in it like later, except uh something kind of unique with us is that all of like our food for all of our events has to come from our venue, uh, just because it's all hosted within a house. Right.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Of course, of course, and the food is so good. I actually told the team like, I don't know if there's gonna be a late-night pizza tonight. I think we're gonna be insatisfied with the food. Well, since I'm on my second salad, I'd say no.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Have you tried the soft pretzels?

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Those are definitely what we're known for.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Oh gosh, okay. Does it come with like the beer cheese? Whoa. It's delicious.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

My gosh. You never get sick of it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

Do you just snack all day long?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, it's pretty busy.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

It's like you probably guys know when somebody's new the game like the freshman 20. Exactly. I know. Like do a little line check dropout. Exactly. So, in the process of you know, booking here at the culinary dropout for a wedding, for I'm guessing rehearsal, a gift opening, an event, like what does that process look like here at Culinary?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yeah, so honestly, since we are a restaurant, it can kind of look like anything. So, for example, 30 minutes beforehand, we just had somebody walk in because they were in the area, they wanted to see our different rooms, so we kind of showed them, let them know that it looks a little specific and special today. Right. But it can come from just people walking in, people calling us, uh, people getting our emails from we'll have like our business cards out at our host stand or just even like word of mouth because Fox is quite a reputable company throughout the valley. So just kind of, I would say those are the most common ways to kind of start the process at least.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah. Kind of going off that too. I feel like a lot of people don't necessarily realize all the different spaces within the restaurant. So kind of like what Summer said, we get a lot of walk-in site visits where people might be here for lunch and they're like, oh, what's that room? Like we have a rehearsal dinner coming up for an engagement party, anything like that. So I feel like you get a lot of people who don't.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

So this is actually how our like story started. We actually, um Britney and I came here, publisher of Arizona Bride, came here for a client meeting and we had dinner and then went to the ladies' room. And I'm like, what's in here? Yeah, and they're like, this would be a great spot for a party. The food's good. The energy is just so um, what's the word I'm looking for? Contagious. Yeah, it just had good vibes when you walk in that door. For sure. Yeah, yeah. So that's how we got here. And then we met summer and we fell in love more.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

So when you guys cater a wedding, does everything come off of your menu? Can you specialize? How does that work for a couple?

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah. So we have a specific event packet. Um, we can do anything, whether it's like plated, usually we cater that towards small groups, except anything larger, we usually do like a station format, can be like a full-blown dinner, could be a lunch, could be a brunch, kind of whatever you're looking for. Um, we also even have like heavier or derb items. We can do those past or place. So however, our venue specifically is a little bit unique because we do have a separate kitchen designated for events. Oh, cool. And so any pretty much Fox restaurant concept that you see throughout the valley that you're like, oh, I love this menu at like Blanco or I love this feature at the Henry, our team is able to customize to fit those needs. If you're like, oh, I want that on my event, I want that in my wedding, we can picture that for you. So pretty much anything that you have an idea of, our team likes to run with it. Even if it's not from one of our concepts menus, we can pretty much customize it too for these.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

We read that you guys like to say yes, and I just didn't I just did the Minnesota thing. Guys, sorry, I put it here. I'm like, so your team literally never says no. It's usually yes or yeah, what's the next thing you want to ask? So that's kind of the motto here. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

So whenever a question is asked, the conversation never ends there. So even if it's not a menu item or something we haven't done before, we're not just gonna automatically say no, we're gonna do what's in our best ability to accommodate any requests, even if it sounds a little out there at first. Our team likes to get creative.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

So I'm sure when you get these crazy ideas with food that you're like, oh, that sounds fun though. We can see our you just have them like Chicago hot dogs and all that. Well, you are from Illinois, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Well, that's so fun. So with your events here and the vendors that come into the building, um how does that look for like the communications um way of things that you guys like to do here as a fox fox restaurant and a culinary?

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Yeah, so uh we are pretty familiar with like a handful of vendors throughout the valley, and especially if we have like we have different event managers at each location of our restaurants. So if I know I need somebody who does the fantastic balloon backdrop, I can contact like our North Scottsdale location and see if do you have any like recommendations or vendors you've worked with. So we usually work through a lot of word of mouth referrals, and then we just document a little list that we know that hey, this person is amazing to work with, like love to work with them again, just so it's an easy thing for us to send over to the guest, and usually we have the guest plan from there. However, if they're in like a time crunch or if they're like, I really need you to take this off my plate, just let us know, and then we're able to contact our vendors that we work with, and everything is just pretty, pretty easy from there, I would say.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Yeah. Is there any recommendations to vendors how to make them more successful on your property?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Honestly, just give me a time of when you're thinking you're coming in and uh we'll open the door for you. That's pretty much all I can really say with that. Yeah. I feel like most of the vendors, especially at least in like the Phoenix Valley area, they're super, they're super quick in a response. So even when we like to say yes last minute to any event, they're pretty much right there with us. So if they're available, or even I've had people reach out and say, like, hey, we're not able to do this drop for you, except I've like this is another person who does the same exact thing in like the valley, like go their way, they'll help you out. So I feel like everybody's just kind of just an inner network and very friendly and wanting to help for sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

I feel like communication is definitely key in that. Like, I feel like we're pretty lucky to not have had any really bad experiences. So, like Summer said, even if it's a last minute change, as long as that's verbalized to us, we really haven't had just roll with it.

SPEAKER_03 8:48

Yeah, just pivot. Yeah, so let's go up to the bones of what's available in this space. So we we're in the campus room. Yes. So how many people can accommodate in here?

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Yeah, so you can do about I would say 48 fully seated, 65 reception style. Uh, we can do a satellite bar featured, also uh to utilize our TV and A V system, like microphones, music. It is complimentary. Uh so usually we just like to set up an A V test in advance, get that all spread away. Um, but I would say this room is most popular for like those all-day business meetings that you're looking for. However, I have seen people uh transform this space into like a very beautiful bridal shower area, bee shower, engageability.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Yeah, yeah. I mean it's a very versatile room.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Yeah, well, these chairs are pretty new, so they're so cozy. I know they're comfortable. I love them.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

They're so cool. We were actually talking about chairs and how important they are too invent earlier, and I was glancing over there thinking these are actually really good chairs. These are my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Yeah, exactly. And then we're in the showcase room. And how many does that accommodate? Because you get the patio, which is a big perk. Yeah, it's a private patio with private games, super important to our brand.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

We can do a fully seated 200 guests, and then we can also do 300 reception style. So that's too large.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

I didn't realize it was that big.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Yeah. So we have a lot of groups do like large like open houses in there, so it makes sense for and you have a private entry, which is really nice. So it does make it convenient for when we do have those uh like brides that want to do their ceremony on site because we have done ceremonies in the showcase room. Um, I've even done one on the patio. So it was a very good thing. I think the patio would be really pretty for it. It was really cute.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Yeah, well, I was I feel like your niche couple but would want the food here, right? The the like they love the energy, the ambiance, but also the food is such a perk. Yeah, such a perk. And I'm sure the cocktails are perfect too.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Do you do catering at venues outside of the stuff? I was just thinking that yeah, I'm sorry, what was not? Do you do catering outside of your properties?

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yeah, we've done off-site catering before, so I would say usually we do them mainly for like drop-offs to like local businesses. Right. Uh nearby, we're very heavy into catering with like the sports teams, like professional sports teams, because we pretty much have a uh culinary dropout location in every major city, or at least one nearby, or some type of concept nearby it. So that's usually uh where we have focused mostly on, but I don't think anything too much in like the social events realm. Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

But you would be open to it.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Yeah, yeah. Because yes, right. Exactly. They recommended you.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

What are the common like questions you would recommend to couples in their touring venues that you feel like pop up and they're like surprised that they weren't unaware about when they're booking a venue?

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Yeah. I mean, do you want to start up on this time? Or I feel like a big thing is trying to figure out what's most important to them. I feel like our spaces are a little bit different than like a standard venue. So if a group is wanting a dance floor or if they're just reception versus reception and ceremony, just kind of seeing what space can best fit them. Um we have a few different options. We even have like a semi-outdoor option, private space in the way back called our coupe. So sometimes people are coming just for more of like the reception party. They had their ceremony somewhere off site, they want something more casual. Right. That's a great fit. However, we don't really have room for a dance floor in there. But if they're looking for something more of like a traditional reception, I think the showcase room is always a great fit with that private bar as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Do you ever get a like a full buyout? Yeah, like a full property buyout? Yeah. Yeah. We've done that before, um, at which that capacity is like thousands.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Honestly, 1200, I think.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

So it is quite a large venue. Um but no, we've done that for um like anniversary parties, like company anniversary parties, super fun. We actually have one coming up. Um, however, we do have the rooms vacant. We just have our main and patio and the area um reserved, except uh it's for one of their um again like company celebrations, and they're doing like an ice cream bar and everything.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Yeah, that's very fun. I was just like sitting here, I was like, well, you could do like a cocktail party in here, yeah. Go have a dinner reception, come back and have a dance party in here.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Yeah, like oh, I've had people build dance floors in this room specifically just to have it be a dance floor, kind of a little after party spot, right? I know. Or if people have even like wanted to do it more of like a speakeasy in here, super fun.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

See, like groups do like a more intimate rehearsal dinner and then transition to a welcome party like out on our patio and our lounges hacking. So, you know, something a little bit more formal and then going outside for more candy. This is a perfect side I feel for rehearsal in a welcome party. It is.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

We are very, very rehearsal dinner heavy. That's probably our most popular wedding aspect that we have going on. Yeah, and do you like love that? Oh, yeah, it's super fun because I don't know if it's just like kind of a common thing that we see here specifically, except we uh host a lot of guests that are like, I thought everything through with the wedding, but didn't even think of rehearsal. Right. And so we usually get those a little bit more like last minute, except again, like they're kind of like, Oh, I'm so in shock that you even have like this space or that you have stuff available, and then also kind of goes into hand in hand of we are off of something called a food and beverage minimum, whereas some venues you'll have to like reserve the silverware that we use the even the staff that comes with it, and uh, we're pretty much like a one-stop shop here. So you get your furniture, you get your linens, you get your plateware, as long as you're okay with how it with the style that we have. Right. Then do you have choices with the linen, or is it so we don't currently, except we do have a close relationship with some of our linen vendors. They they're pretty much on call with us if we need it.

SPEAKER_03 14:26

So yeah, that's great. Great for the last minute. Exactly. Right. But yeah, I can totally see the rehearsal and the welcome party being like a perfect place for this, just um from intimate to even grander. And the food is just so good. Yeah, it's it's more fun, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

It's a little bit more unique, especially something that you wouldn't get on like your actual wedding day, probably. So that's why the rehearsal dinner really goes hand in hand.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

I feel like all our different spaces too are very unique in their own ways, so that kind of helps with, you know, last-minute bookings if they're worried about decorations and all of that. Like a lot of the stuff is already within the room. You know, we have plants, we have votives on the tables, just different things. So they don't really have to bring in too much, and it looks beautiful just as a makes it easy.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

What do you um what is like the signature of like a fox restaurant or just culinary dropout? Like you have to have this, or you or like people, you're just known for it. What's that like knit? I would say our pretzels and fun do for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

Absolutely like favorite. And you need every single time we have somebody like selecting a menu, I'm like, you need to have that as a pretzel master. Yeah, super good. I will say we actually have a newer item on our menu called the our spicy brigatoni, and it has chicken sausage in it. It's so popular and it's so good. I have it for lunch on this like every day. It's really bad. But that one's super, super popular. And then dessert-wise, you have something called mucky bread, which it's like the cinnamon apple brioche kind of like sticky bunky moss, and then served with ice cream.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

So that sounds perfect. That sounds so delicious. What's one thing that you two love seeing on the with events that like you enjoy it that like, oh, thank you that they booked this? Like it just adds to the ambiance of the event.

unknown 16:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

I love when groups do like signature cocktails, so we see a lot for like rehearsal dinners, parties like that, doing like a his and hers, and then maybe like a theirs and getting creative. Like a lot of times, groups will like take a drink off our menu, but then customize the name to like something that fits then. So we'll make it custom signs for them, just make it a little bit more personable. But I love when they get creative with the drinks.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

We even have some like chalkboard signed features in our showcase room as well as in our coupe area that if you do request, like we're able to kind of customize it and for like a rehearsal dinner, like his and hers, or example, like you said, with the cocktails too, we can put them up there too. So it's kind of fun to customize in like that sense, and then they come in and they're like, Oh my goodness, like this is so like that's my name.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

Um, one last question, because I feel like this is common with a wedding like selection for your menu, but I think for a rehearsal, um, what do you see as like the trend right now for a rehearsal dinner? Is it share shareable like passing like family style style activations, planning um taking orders? Would you like chicken or steak tonight? Or is it buffet or displayed? What do you see as trending right now?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Yeah. I mean, you can correct me if you think differently. Except I would say definitely more of like those like snacky light bite options. Okay. I feel like a lot of people have incorporated like their welcome party and rehearsal dinner combined. Right. So uh you get a lot of people traveling from out of town, like coming in, and they don't necessarily are looking for like that big heavy dinner, but they just want to stop by before they check into like their hotel or something. So I would say, especially since in Tempi we have a lot of like local hotels. I feel like that's the most common, at least what we find at our venue, is just more like those lighter, casual come grab a bite to eat, grab a drink, and then head home.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

For sure. Yeah, I agree. I feel like, especially with some of our spaces then being like a little bit less formal than like a large seated dinner. I feel like a lot of the groups like something a little more casual, especially if they have the wedding the next day. That's super formal. So past appetizers and past drinks, um, keeping that flow.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

Well, I'm gonna tell you, I love this. I love it here. I love you two, the lines, the energy when you walk in, you guys are just doing a great job. It's perfect, especially with our disco theme tonight. Thanks for coming on the podcast. All right, everybody.