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Thinking about an engagement party? Read up on this Engagement Party 101… As a nice follow-up to our earlier post on “Announcing Your Engagement” and with so many engagements around the holiday season, we thought we would clear up the etiquette around engagement parties.
An engagement party is a time to celebrate the engagement of the bride and groom while spending time with close family and friends. Who wouldn’t want to do that?? I always think it is a perfect time to get everyone excited about the trip for the destination wedding (if they aren’t already!) as well as introduce possible single travel buddies to each other.
To clear up any confusion about the proper engagement party etiquette, here are 5 simple tips to help you….
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1. When should the engagement party be held?
There is not an exact proper time to have an engagement party but it should fall sometime after the couple is officially engaged and before the wedding. The engagement party should be closer to the beginning of the engagement than to the date of the wedding.
2. Who should host the engagement party?
Traditionally the parents of the bride host the engagement party. It is not uncommon anymore for the groom’s parents, siblings or friends of the couple to host the party. The bride and groom should not ask someone to host the party for them nor host the party themselves.
3. Where should the engagement party be held?
Engagement parties can range from being formal to very informal depending on the venue – a house or a restaurant are the most popular. Guests should not travel to the party, especially if having a destination wedding. Therefore having multiple parties are common when hosted in different towns or by different groups of family/friends.
4. Who should be invited?
Engagement parties are usually small and intimate affairs but can also be quite large. Generally close family and friends are invited to celebrate the engagement. Only guests attending the wedding should be invited to the engagement party.
5. Should guests bring gifts to an engagement party?
The couple should not expect any guests to bring gifts. BUT some guests may bring a gift so it is important to have a gift registry started before the engagement party.
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Here’s to all the newly engaged couples as they revel in this special time in their lives!
Live, Love and Laugh…
