So you are engaged, now what? Throw an awesome party, duh! Traditionally, engagement parties were a chance for a young woman’s parents to announce that their daughter was engaged to be married. It was a large, sometimes formal {stuffy} gathering of the community, mostly friends of the parents, and probably not much fun for the young people.
These days, engagement parties are a celebration of the couple and their intent to be married. Its a celebration of love and laughter and an exciting time for family and friends of the soon-to-be newlyweds.
Unlike bridal showers, engagement parties are for everyone, including the guys!! They are often a casual gathering of friends and are a lot of fun… if you do it right! Here are some ideas on how to have an awesome engagement party:
Pick a theme:
The theme can come from anywhere. This is a great opportunity to bring in some fun personalization to your engagement parties and let your friends and family in on a little more about your love story. Pick a theme based on how you two met or another significant moment in your relationship. For example, if you went to a Mexican restaurant on your first date, throw a fiesta! If you met working at a water park together, throw a pool party! The options are absolutely endless!
Food & Drinks:
Pick food, drinks, and desserts that match your theme, that’s the easy part! There are so many great ideas on how to extend your theme through the food and beverage portions of the party. And don’t forget about dessert either! A great way to keep your guests active and happy throughout your engagement parties is through stations. Rather than just putting all the food on one long table and serving it like a buffet, split different courses into different areas. Create “Make-Your-Own” station where your friends and family can interact with what they are eating. These can be so easy and perfect for picky eaters! Spread out the toppings for a Taco bar or a Chili bar. Let your guests make their own special mimosa or champagne drink with different juices and fruits to add. These stations will help make your guests feel like they were involved in the party and offers an experience that is greater than just walking a buffet line.
Make it Fun:
Don’t let your engagement parties be dull and boring! Just like with the food stations, guests want to interact and feel like they are involved in the party. Do this by providing fun games! This can be as easy as throwing some Oversized Jenga or TicTacToe in the backyard. As long as the weather is nice, your friends will be perfectly happy playing these classic games. Also, they are games that you can personalize to be played as teams or as individuals like trivia about the couple. Questions like “Who made the first move?” and “Where was their first date?” are not only fun to guess the answers to but these kinds of games are a great way to share more details about your love story and makes your friends and family feel more connected to you as a couple rather than just as individuals. After all, you’re engaged now!
There is no doubt that your loved ones are going to be so thrilled to congratulate you on your engagement and want to celebrate with you. Engagement parties can be stuffy and boring, or you can make it the best party of the year and something your friends will be talking about for a long time. At least until they attend your amazing wedding!!
For more ideas on all things Engagement related, check out our Pinterest board!
Photos via Pinterest
