Steps to Planning the Perfect Engagement Party
First of all, congratulations on your engagement. It must be super exciting to know that you will soon be marrying the love of your life. Why not celebrate that fact with your dearest friends and family? Here is how to plan the perfect engagement party.
Engaged couple
Figure out the host
If you want to throw your own engagement party, you are more than welcome to do so, but if you are thinking of keeping with traditions, the bride’s parents are the ones to host, however anyone close to you can take this role, there’s no need to stress out if your parents aren’t able to do it. The hosting duties include things like sending the invites, making a toast and if you’re lucky maybe even paying for the party.
Take some time to breathe before setting the date
Depending on how long you are engaged, you can throw a party anywhere from a few days after the proposal up to a few months before the wedding day. However, give yourself some time to settle before jumping into party planning mode. Waiting will also give you time to figure out the guest list size, location and style of your wedding, which will make it easier to decide what type of engagement party you will throw.
Will you marry me balloon
Set yourself a budget
Having a detailed budget is always recommended, and this party will help you practice crunching the numbers. Also, knowing the budget will both give you sense of what’s realistic to spend and narrow down venue ideas.
Finding the place
A home or a restaurant are classic choices, but you don’t have to stop there. Who can forbid you to throw your engagement party on, let’s say, a building rooftop, on a boat, on the beach or in a museum? However, have in mind that you shouldn’t upstage the wedding itself.
Couple kiss engaged
Plan the guest list
When it comes to engagement parties, there really are no rules except this one: every guest you invite to your engagement party should ideally be invited to your wedding as well. This means you have to have the size of your wedding in mind when planning your engagement party. It would be unusual to have a 100 people at your engagement party and 50 people at your wedding.
Choose your menu
Unless you want to, there is no need to serve a luxurious five-course meal or have an open bar, but there should definitely be some food and drinks. If you aren’t going to serve food you should make that clear on the invitations. For example: “Join us in celebrating our engagements with champagne and desserts.” On the other hand, you can hire a personal chef who will personalize your food and drinks and feature a special cuisine, such as sake-tinis and sushi rolls if you are into Japanese culture.
Wedding drinks at party
Consider the décor
The décor deserves some thought, but don’t overthink it. And when in doubt, go simple – just a couple of flowers are going to perk up any space. If you choose artificial flowers you could even reuse these for your wedding day. You can also decorate with fabrics, candles or seashells.
Dress to impress
Come on, your first wed-to-be party deserves a couple of special outfits. And as you shop for new things, have both the venue and party setting in mind. Showing up in a black goth dress on a floral-themed party, or in a long evening gown on a casual backyard bash may seem unusual. Again, find something that isn’t going to outdo your wedding look but is still special enough to tell everyone that you are the star of this party.
And that would basically be it. All that is now left is to have fun at your party!