The Rehearsal Dinner

The night before. Two families become one room, the nerves settle, and the first stories are told out loud.

• watchConnection score is low. Mix the seating so no table holds only one family, and give every table a printed conversation card.
• watchNo group photograph is scheduled. Both families in one frame is the single image this night exists to produce — put it before people start leaving.
• watchLegacy Night is empty. This is the one evening every elder is in the room — record three short interviews and you preserve family history that no later event can recover.
• watchNo backup speaker is named. On the night, one person always freezes, arrives late, or cries through their time. Name a stand-in for each round.