Luckily, in New Jersey we live in the epicenter of fantastic dining, so you have no shortage of restaurants and hot spots to consider for your VIP event.

Brides and grooms are delighted that they can bring in a style they once considered for their wedding reception, but couldn’t ultimately choose due to budget and scope, such as an on-the-beach clambake or a five-star filet mignon meal served in a top hotel’s private party room. Going upscale for the rehearsal dinner is one of the leading trends, so couples are looking at local restaurants for chic locales for their 20-to-30-person guest lists.

One of these options is Daryl Restaurant and Wine Bar in New Brunswick (732-253-7780; darylwinebar.com), where guests experience a succession of small portions brought to the table, ready to be shared, in the same style as tapas. Menu choices include croquettes of brandade (cod), gazpacho shooters, tuna tartare, warm artichoke salad with Serrano ham, beer-braised short ribs, seared scallops with fava beans and blood orange, and flat-iron steak with sautéed wild mushrooms, in a mix of Spanish and American cuisine paired with crowd-pleasing wines. You can also provide the raw bar option that you might not have been able to afford for the reception itself, here for your VIP guests’ selection. With this international fusion mixed with luxury, your rehearsal dinner becomes a mini dream reception.

Another top trend in rehearsal dinners is an interactive element. At Rio 22 in Union (908-206-0060; rio22.net), a Brazilian steakhouse and sushi bar, you get a blend of two very different, unique styles of food with the added flair of servers coming to your table to carve meat right onto your plate. That sushi option you might not have been able to add to your wedding becomes a far more affordable treat here for your chosen guests, in a celebratory atmosphere often featuring live music.

At La Campagne in Cherry Hill (856-429-7647; lacampagne.com), consistently voted one of the most romantic restaurants in the state, your upscale menu might include lobster bisque, French onion soup with Gruyère cheese, roasted pear salad, escargot en brioche with garlic brandy butter, lobster and brie crepe, seared foie gras with fig compote, filet mignon with Roquefort cheese and demi glace, and sea bass with saffron fennel beurre blanc. Your foodie guests will think they just wandered onto the set of Bravo’s Top Chef.