Engagement Party Planning – Something for the Future Bride and Groom
Well, you thought it would never happen. Your daughter’s boyfriend finally proposed! Congratulations! After ten years, you probably lost hope that he’d ever marry her. You’re so excited right now, looking through the phone book, ready to call somewhere … anywhere … to have them hold the engagement party you’ve been planning to have for the past eight years.
Slow down. There’s no rush. You need to collect your thoughts because engagement party planning is more than just calling restaurants to see if they have availability. There are some important things you need to keep in mind when preparing for this kind of a celebration.
First, you need to consider the feelings of the future bride and groom. Right now they’re probably nervous and excited at the prospect that it’s finally going to happen for them. You need to give them a little time to breath. Don’t bombard them with a huge celebration right away.
Give them two to four months after he proposes before you have the party. A small get-together the week after is okay, but give them a month before you throw them any kind of real party. This will give them time to talk about their upcoming wedding, and the plans they may have for it. With all of the questions that are going to come their way during the party, this will be like prep time for their answers.
Now that you know when you want to host the engagement party, it’s time to get your guest list together. If you’re following proper etiquette, your engagement party guest list should include people going to the wedding. If you don’t already know, you should find out from the bride-to-be who she’s going to invite.
There’s an exception to this rule of etiquette. If bride and groom are paying for their own wedding, and they plan on keeping it small, you need to be ready to lower the count on the guest list. If you have your heart set on planning a bigger engagement party, you need to be sure to let the invitees know if they won’t be attending the wedding.
The next item to contemplate when planning your engagement party is where you want to have it. When picking out a location, remember to consider the tastes of the future in-laws. An engagement party you plan for your favorite seafood restaurant, may not be the type of place your in-laws are comfortable with. It’s not about being stuck up, its just that they may not like eating at a picnic table, and they may not like throwing their crab claws in a buck in the middle of the table.
Remember, this may be the first time the in-laws are meeting each other, so making everyone as comfortable as possible is extremely important. One easy way, pick someplace to have the engagement party that everyone will like.
Planning an engagement party can be a lot of work. You need to juggle everyone’s schedules, figure out locations, and be considerate of everyone’s tastes. Those things aside, remember that this is a time of celebration, so have fun. The tips mentioned don’t cover everything you need to know in order to throw a successful engagement party, but they’re a great start. Follow these few suggestions and you will be on your way to a memorable party.
