Coach My Wedding

Should we have an engagement party? Of course the answer is completely up to you but my answer is always… YES. An engagement party is a great way for the couple to announce their decision to make a life long commitment to each other. It is also a great way for the bride and groom to be to become comfortable with all eyes on them before the big day.

Who hosts the engagement party? Traditionally, the engagement party is hosted by the bride’s parents and usually would occur at their home. Since all of the traditional standards don’t really mean much anymore, an engagement party can be hosted by anyone. This includes being thrown by the couple themselves.

Where would we have an engagement party? The answer to that question is anywhere. You could have it at your favorite restaurant, the beach, the place you went on your first date, a place that is particularly meaningful to you… ANYWHERE.

Should the engagement party be elaborate or simple? That answer is completely up to you. Both answers are appropriate. Something simple like coffee and cake at the bride’s parents house is great. If you wanted hours d’oeuveres and a champagne hour at the couples home, that is perfect. A buffet style dinner in the home is excellent. You could even do a sit down dinner at a restaurant for a more elaborate party. All of the above are acceptable and appropriate forms of an engagement party.

So who do you invite? Well the answer to this question is pretty much the only rule that you should abide by to follow correct wedding etiquette. You should only invite those people that you intend to invite to the wedding. With that said, you do not need to invite every person on your wedding invitation list. The engagement party guest list should be comprised of close friends and family. This should be a much more intimate event than the wedding. As I had stated above, this is the perfect way for the bride and groom to be to get used to being the center of everyone’s attention.

This is a great time to be getting married since the bride and groom really have free range on what they want all of their gatherings to be like. There is no more, this person pays for this and this party must be held here. The bride and groom get to really design their whole wedding experience to suit themselves… whatever that may be.