The moment you’re engaged you begin an exciting new chapter of your relationship and it marks the beginning of the wedding planning process. One of the first items on your wedding planning checklist is to announce your engagement and celebrate this new chapter with an engagement party. Traditionally an engagement party was a social gathering where the father of the bride-to-be would announce to all the guests of his daughters’ engagement. However times have changed and with the widespread popularity of social media, the news of a couples’ engagement may spread quickly before the couple has an opportunity to inform their immediate family members of the exciting news. So we’re here to help sort through some of the common etiquette when planning your engagement party.
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| Photo by Damaris Mia |
Traditionally, the parents of the bride-to-be host the engagement party and the couple should take the parents into consideration when deciding who to host. Of course traditions have changed quite a bit with the blending of families and the differences in cultures so much so that some newly engaged couples host their own engagement party.
Can we have more than one engagement party?
If both of your families live in different areas, it may be convenient to host the party where the majority of the family is located or host two separate parties for each family. Couples might want to honor long time family traditions and only invite immediate family but then host a separate party for their close friends. Sometimes multiple people close to the couple offer to host an engagement party.
When to have your Engagement Party?
An engagement party is typically held shortly after the couple is engaged. This event will help your families have a chance to get to know one another and or meet for the first time.
Who to invite?
It is very important to only send out invites to individuals who will be attending your wedding. It is better to keep the engagement list on the smaller side and it is suggested to not announce your engagement party all over social media to prevent from hurting anyone’s feelings.
Article provided by H. White Special Events & Expressionary Events
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