Congratulations, you’ve just proposed to your partner! Now, whose responsibility is it to plan the engagement party?
By tradition, it should be the parents of the bride who host and plan the engagement party, but these days, it can honestly be anyone’s responsibility. It can be the close friends of the couple, or even the couple themselves that plan the engagement party.
Read on to learn more about engagement parties, who should plan them, and how much they tend to cost.
Preparing To Plan The Party
One of the more traditional things to follow a wedding proposal is the engagement party, an event thrown to celebrate… Well, the engagement. However, there are many questions that arise when planning this event, such as the decisions on where, when, and how it should be held.
For some, the engagement party will be a dramatically formal event, with dozens of people in attendance, and a strict schedule being adhered to. However, for others, the engagement party will be a casual affair that can be as simple as a meal or a small backyard party.
It depends on the people planning the party, the budget available, and most often, the nature of the couple in question. If they’re not the type to go all out on a party, then it’ll most likely be a quiet event with just a few close friends and family members.
But who should actually plan the engagement party?
According to tradition, this responsibility firmly lies with the parents of the bride, who should at least host the party. While they might not plan the engagement party, tradition dictates that the celebration should take place in their home.
However, the rules have changed a little nowadays, and it really is the responsibility of absolutely anyone to plan this party. It could be siblings, close friends, or even the bride and groom themselves that plans the engagement party.
Tradition has given way to freedom of choice in recent years, and what was once an unavoidable aspect of a wedding is now entirely optional. These days, a couple can do whatever they want where a wedding is concerned, and yes, that includes the engagement party.
Whether they want to invite their friends to a cocktail party at their parents’ house or throw a formal celebration in a country club, it’s their choice. In some cases, the engagement party can be a dramatically intimate affair, in stark contrast to a bustling, densely-packed wedding ceremony.
The Etiquette Of Engagement
Although tradition has been pushed to the side in recent years, there are still various things to consider where an engagement party is concerned. You’ll need to determine who you’re going to invite, where you’ll host the party, and what entertainment (if any) you’ll have at the event.
Honestly, there’s no harm in hosting a generic party in place of a traditional engagement party – it’s still a celebration, after all. There doesn’t need to be a strict theme or agenda, so long as you’re with those you care about the most, and you’re showing off that engagement ring!
If you’re eager to save money ahead of the wedding, you can host the party at your home, prepare your own food, and decorate the environment on a budget. You don’t need to hire expensive caterers and hang thousands of string lights just to celebrate your engagement.
There’s one stark difference between the engagement party and the day of your wedding, and that’s the gift aspect. While you shouldn’t ask for gifts at an engagement party, you should be ready to receive some nonetheless.
It’s a great piece of advice to remove gifts from the party and keep them somewhere secluded, to avoid creating feelings of awkwardness among those who haven’t brought a gift.
You can take the opportunity to express your love for one another, if you’re the couple in question, that is. It’s the prelude to your wedding, and people are expecting you to be in each other’s arms throughout the entire day.
In fact, you can use this as an opportunity to profess your love for one another – maybe share some stories about how you met, or prepare a video of your fondest memories. Also, you need to be willing to accept advice from the wisest among your event, as they’ll likely have lots of it.
Ultimately, you need to remember that the event is about you and your partner, and you should enjoy it as much as you possibly can. After all, if everything works out, you’ll never have another engagement party, right?