You’ve officially entered wedding and proposal time! The wedding festivities need to get going now. Now that you’ve gotten the proposal out of the way, it’s time to focus on something else that matters: the engagement party. A celebration of engagement is a wonderful opportunity to inform loved ones of the happy news and bring everyone together to rejoice in the upcoming marriage.
Don’t know how to get things going or what to do first? Have no fear; we’ve got all the info you need to know about when and how to have an engagement bash. If you follow these simple instructions, you will soon be sharing your good news with your closest friends and family.
Summary
Engagement parties are a fun way to celebrate your upcoming wedding and share the news with loved ones. Traditionally hosted by the bride’s family, anyone close to the couple can now take on the role. The party can be formal or informal, held at a home, restaurant, or special venue. Planning should be done promptly after the engagement, with invitations sent out 3-6 weeks before. Ensure the guest list matches the wedding invite list, and consider the theme, menu, and drinks. A well-prepared playlist, light snacks, and a few toasts add to the celebration. It’s important to plan early and communicate the event details clearly to ensure a smooth and enjoyable gathering.
Planning An Engagement Party
Determine Who Will Be The Host
Planning an engagement bash? Just do it! Hosts are traditionally the bride’s parents, although in modern times, anybody close to the couple, or even many hosts (such as both sets of parents), is acceptable. When it comes to organising an engagement bash, there is no one correct approach. Multiple engagement parties organized by various persons are likewise acceptable. Don’t feel pressured to arrange a party in the same style as your parents if you’d rather have a more relaxed get-together with your pals. If you and your partner are from different cities, it may also make sense to have a joint celebration. Whoever volunteers to host should bear in mind that they will likely be responsible for sending out invitations, giving a toast, and footing the bill for the event.
Choose A Location
Strategic placement is essential. In case no one is available to organize the engagement party at their house, you may want to start looking at nearby restaurants and pubs. All of your guests will appreciate something that is easy to find and spacious enough to accommodate everyone you’ve invited. Finding an event venue that also provides food and drink is helpful if you want to cut out part of the preparation work.
There is a lot of leeway in terms of size and formality when it comes to selecting a location for an engagement party. Your favourite restaurant probably has a private dining room, but a party at your house or in your aunt’s garden is a nice low-key alternative as well.
Choose A Theme
In spite of the fact that the event has a clear focus (congratulating the couple on their upcoming wedding), you may find it necessary to add an additional layer of holiday cheer. There’s no need to go all out with a pirate or masquerade theme, but the party should have its own feel. Don’t give up hope until you’ve checked the weather. What to wear to an engagement party in the middle of winter. You might have your party in a cozy lodge or restaurant and serve hot toddies. If it’s summer, enjoy the nice weather while you can; we only receive a limited amount of it each year. Decide on a campfire party with s’mores bars and local beer.
The theming of the engagement party may be as elaborate or straightforward as the host desires. It’s a party, so set the mood however you wish. Choose a style that speaks to you, whether it is an all-white setting, sleek sophistication, or earthy blooms.
Make A Guest List For Your Engagement Celebration
It is the couple’s celebration, so have a conversation with them before making your ideal guest list. Find out whether they’re hoping for a small, close-knit gathering, or a huge bash with everyone from high school buddies to their current boss. When making the guest list, keep in mind the cost of the party and the capacity of the location you want to use. Advice: if they aren’t on the guest list for the wedding, they shouldn’t be invited to the engagement party, either.
If you find out that you have invited more than 200 people to your wedding, it’s a good thing that your loved ones are willing to let you sleep on their couches until you’ve paid off the costs. Since the guest list for a wedding is often smaller than for an engagement party, your engagement party is a great way to include more people in the festivities who couldn’t make it on your actual wedding day.
Gather Contact Details For Guests
Having compiled a list of potential attendees, the next step is to determine the most effective means of contacting them. You may use our wedding guest list tool to send out emails, Facebook messages, or texts to everyone on your list, asking for their postal address. In addition to preparing you to send out invitations to the engagement party, this will also aid the couple as they plan their future wedding by providing them with a convenient way to notify guests of important dates.
Be Timely
Avoid having a lot of partygoers bail on you at the last minute. Invite people to your party at least three to six weeks before the event. This will allow individuals to plan ahead and schedule time off from work or attend to other matters.
So that everyone may still be excited about the news and before the serious business of wedding planning begins to set in, the engagement party should be held no later than three months following the announcement. Even better, why not break the news amid the celebration? There is no better way to leave your guests talking about your big day than a surprise engagement.
Formal Or Informal?
Even while cocktail and canapé receptions are all the rage at the moment, they are by no means the only kind of party you can have. You may try something different like a romantic supper, a long, leisurely meal, or a brunch. Just remain in touch with your visitors so they know what to expect and may come prepared. A Facebook event or website that encourages participation from attendees is a great way to set the tone for a more relaxed party. If your event is more formal, like a wedding, make sure everyone knows ahead of time so there are no surprises.
It’s important to dress appropriately for the kind of party you’re attending. You don’t have to wear all white if that’s not your thing; we approve of a flowery design with a white background or a pastel palette, for example. The clothes your date wears should match yours and the occasion.
Prepare Your Menu
A light lunch is best for an engagement party since the focus should be on socialising. What they need is a buffet or cocktail snacks (which won’t break the money, which is always a bonus). Choose an appetizer or light plated dinner if you want to impress. Before finalising the menu, you should find out if any of your guests have any food allergies and make sure to include vegetarian and vegan choices.
Food should always be provided with alcoholic beverages. Passed appetisers or a spread of meats, cheeses, and crudités are perfect for a night spent sipping drinks. Are you guys having a get-together in the backyard? Bring all of your barbecue favourites. Placing the food on plates is a lovely gesture if the evening will be more formal, but it is not necessary to serve a lengthy five-course dinner with wine pairings.
Prepare Drinks And Mocktails
Remember to supply the bar with drinks and mocktails; without these, the party would lack a certain something. It’s important to have enough wine, spirits, and sparkling wine on hand for toasts. It’s also a good idea to have the bartender brew up a specialty drink with a clever name (maybe something related to the marriage) and a selection of the guests’ personal tastes.
Make A Great Playlist
It’s safe to assume that you wouldn’t want utter silence during your event. Although now is not the time to hire a full band for your engagement party, you can still make it a memorable event by playing a great selection of music. To find out what music the pair like listening to together, you may make a playlist. Keep in mind that your grandparents and children may be listening, so avoid using a lot of foul language or sex references.
Toasts & Gifts
An engagement party typically has fewer toasts than a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner, but a toast is always appreciated. Guests should not feel pressured to bring gifts, although small tokens of appreciation are common. Hosts should accept gifts graciously and display them without spending too much time opening them. A short, heartfelt speech in honour of the couple is a nice touch and shows the host’s thoughtfulness.
Engagement parties celebrate the couple’s commitment and allow friends and family to meet, usually held six months before the wedding. Traditionally hosted by the bride’s family, anyone close to the couple can host, and the venue can be a home, restaurant, or special location. Planning should not be stressful, so if you enjoy organising, go ahead and host. Otherwise, delegate the task to someone else.
Who Hosts The Engagement Party?
Although the parents of the bride traditionally host the engagement party, anybody may do so nowadays. Some married couples even want to host a party in honour of their union.
Who Should You Invite To An Engagement Party?
You must invite everyone who is invited to your engagement party, just like you did for your bachelor/bachelorette parties and showers. Whether you and your future spouse or your parents will be hosting the engagement party, this is important to remember.
When Should An Engagement Party Be Hosted?
When you become engaged, we advise you to celebrate as soon as possible. Spreading out the celebrations is a good idea since there will be more events held in your honour in the future. A little delay is not a big deal if your engagement is longer or you can’t go home immediately.
Conclusion
A celebration of engagement is a wonderful opportunity to inform loved ones of the happy news and bring everyone together. You’ll need to do a lot of the same things that you would for a major event: choose a date, make an invite list, send out invites, settle on a meal, and set a budget. We spoke to Heather Lowenthal, a professional party planner, to get her advice and help with the guest list, invites, presents, and everything else. When you become engaged, Lowenthal advises you to celebrate as soon as possible. Spreading out the celebrations is a good idea since there will be more events in your honor in the future. It’s not uncommon for a couple to have more than one engagement party, particularly if the groom and the bride are from separate cities or live far away from each other.
FAQs About Engagement Party
Who Hosts The Engagement Party?
Traditionally, the bride’s parents host the engagement party, but many modern couples host their celebration. Originally, engagement parties had the appearance of normal parties at which the bride-to-be’s father made a surprise announcement of the engagement to his guests.
When Is The Best Time To Have An Engagement Party?
It is ideal to have an engagement party three months after the proposal. You have to think of a compelling reason to bring everyone together. However, if you plan on having a long engagement, you can delay the party and celebrate when you’re ready.
How Soon Should You Hold An Engagement Party?
However, time is of the essence. It would be best if you had the celebration as soon as possible when the news breaks. If the wedding is a year or more away, the engagement party should be held during the first few months. Then, all the pressure of wedding preparations won’t stress you out.
Is An Engagement Party Really Necessary?
Guests who will be spending a lot of time together in the next months and years, such as the bride’s and groom’s parents, and who may even be involved in wedding planning, should be formally introduced during the engagement party.
How Do You Decide If You Should Throw An Engagement Party?
Budget carefully for the wedding in the time leading up to it. If you’re in a position to do so and have some extra cash on hand, consider whether or not you’d want to celebrate your upcoming engagement with a party. While some individuals host engagement parties that rival or even surpass the size of others’ weddings, you don’t have to go to such extremes.
