Not to mention the purpose of an engagement party—usually scheduled no later than three months after the big announcement—can be threefold: to share the news of your imminent union with future wedding guests, to introduce your families to each other, and to celebrate the impending celebration. Tradition has it that the bride's parents host the initial gathering, but the groom's parents can then throw their own party, or both sets can come together to host the fete, it can be thrown by anyone.
As you decide, here are five things the hosts should keep in mind:
1. Don't rush into an engagement party and don't wait too long either. Getting engaged is thrilling and yet overwhelming. Plan to have an engagement party two to four months after the question was popped. That gives you the chance to envision your eventual wedding—a crucial element to consider when deciding on the type of event to throw.
2. This gives you an idea of the size of the wedding guest list. Everyone who's invited to the engagement party should ultimately be invited to the wedding. Otherwise, guests might wonder what they did at the engagement party to insult you! That said, if you decide to host your own wedding and keep the list small and you want to throw an extravagant engagement party, go for it. Just be sure to let people know that the wedding will be small so no feelings will be hurt when guests aren't invited to the wedding. If you're worried that your friends will think you want to have a big bash solely to garner gifts, include a nice note in the invitation that requests no presents.
3. Register for gifts before the engagement party. This allows guests to get a good idea of what the bride and groom need as well as allows guests who can't attend the wedding send a gift earlier. This also gives the bride one less item on your wedding check list hanging over her head and can be updated as you go along.
4. Don't forget to breathe and make some down time to yourself. Wedding planning can be exhausting for all involved. Don't lose sight of your relationships with those around you. Men don't seem to care about all the girly fun frilly and fluffy conversations we like to talk about, but the men around you love and support you and are still involved in the process too. Don't let the wedding get bigger than your love for your family.
5. Keep a hawk's eye on your budget! It is essential to consider unexpected prices or fees to come up when planning a wedding. It is very wise to consider a cushion in your budget to help ease the pain of inflated prices, or unexpected prices that can and often do occur.
Please feel free to contact Kathryn, owner of Blessed Events with any questions.
