Whether it’s for your newly engaged son or daughter, sibling, or best friend, you will want to throw the perfect engagement party that
the happy couple will be proud of, that all the guests will love, and that you can feel pleased with. When hosting an engagement party for someone else, there are a few tips to follow so that it all goes smoothly and to plan.
Find Out What the Couple Want
An engagement party needs to reflect the soon-to-be married couple. Now is not the time for practical jokes and outrageous ideas. Keep your party planning respectful of the couple’s likes and dislikes. Consider their personalities: if they are a relaxed couple, a beach BBQ may be the thing, or if the couple love getting dressed up and heading out on the town, a cocktail party, club, or restaurant may be more suitable. The engaged couple will appreciate the time and thought put into a special event that reflects them as a couple. Be sure to consult them on who to invite, especially when it comes to family. When it comes to writing out engagement party invitations, you want to ensure that everyone who should be there is there. As a general rule, it is considered a social faux pas to invite someone to an engagement party if he or she is not going to be invited to the wedding.
Ask for Suggestions from Friends and Family
Include input from family and friends. Those close to the couple can be the most helpful with suggestions, but they will also be the first to consult should you need any help. Close relatives and friends can be a great source of interesting stories or other information that may come in handy during the celebration event. There are plenty of little jobs necessary to make the day or evening run smoothly. A few extra hands helping with engagement party decorations will make your job that much easier. Have someone reliable on a camera to take snapshots, and have someone greeting guests at the door, explaining the necessities like bathroom facilities or seating arrangements. If you are self-catering the party, delegate a relative or friend to ensure drinks are topped up and food is handed out to everyone.
Consider Cultural and/or Family Differences
For the benefit of the engaged couple, it is respectful to consider cultural and family differences. If the future groom’s parents are vegetarians, be sure to have food available for them to enjoy. Think about possible language barriers if the family of the bride to be speaks predominantly Chinese. Taking care of these differences will help the couple to relax and enjoy their engagement party, and guests will feel appreciated and respected.
Choose a Theme that Reflects the Wedding
It is a great idea to have some sort of theme to the engagement party. Whether a simple colour theme or something all-out extravagant, it helps to know your plans before shopping for engagement party decorations. Not only will the bride-to-be appreciate your efforts, but guests will have great memories of the event. Be sure to bring in some special touches that help to make the party memorable for the couple and their guests. You may like to have cards with little known facts about the couple scattered around the tables, or play a DVD slide show of pictures of the couple throughout their lives.
Set Aside Time for Toasts
As the host, be prepared to not only set aside time during the event for people to toast the couple, but also to get up and say something yourself. Be sure to tell the story of how the couple met, for those who may not know this. Allow enough time for significant people to get the chance to speak, but make sure there is plenty of time for the bride and groom-to-be to mingle with their guests.
Decide on Gifts
Gifts are not customary at engagement parties like they are at weddings. However, if you choose to have guests bring a gift, be sure that the wedding registry is set up to give people the option to choose an item from this list if they prefer to do so. It is always best to consult the couple about whether they would feel comfortable having guests bring gifts or not.
About the Author: Sarah James writes regularly for various women’s magazines and online wedding sites. An event planner based in Sydney, Sarah enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience that she has picked up over the past six years in the wedding industry.
