What do you wear to a rehearsal dinner?
One notch below the wedding itself: cocktail for a formal dinner, smart casual for a relaxed one. Dressier than a nice dinner out, less than the ceremony.
The rehearsal dinner calibrates off the wedding's formality. For a black-tie or formal wedding: cocktail attire - a dress or jumpsuit, or a blazer over an elegant top. For a cocktail or semi-formal wedding: the polished end of smart casual - silk top and tailored trousers, a knit dress, chinos and an unstructured blazer. For a casual or backyard wedding: your nice-weekend best, one level up. Check the venue as the tiebreaker: a restaurant private room wants more polish than a family backyard. Two rules that always apply: nothing white or bridal-adjacent (the bride often wears white to the rehearsal, and that slot is hers), and nothing that upstages - the rehearsal is the couple's opening act, not your runway. If you are in the wedding party, you will often be told the plan; if not, err one notch up.