Congrats you're engaged! Now, Plan Your Engagement Soiree!

Engagement parties are now becoming a more prevalent occasion for contemporary couples. As we are embarking upon the Fall wedding season, there will be more and more soirees with the benefit of celebrating your upcoming nuptials.


The first, is starting with the Engagement Party. While I consult tons of clients on how to relax during their engagement period, allowing Envi to coordinate their events, and have the time of their life, there are some parties that couples enjoy planning together for their friends, their friend and family throw for them in celebration.


As with anything, there are always trends. Engagement Parties are not a new fad, they are actually an old concept that are becoming more prevalent, as with clothing styles. The original concept of engagement parties were that they were thrown in honor of the couple to announce their engagement. It was usually thrown by the bride's parents either as a dinner party, cocktail reception, or something for close friends and immediate family to offer congratulations. Fast-forward to now, since weddings on average take about a year to plan, engagement parties are becoming a more formal way to immediately congratulate the couple on their new found journey together.

As with any party, you will determine your budget, your guest list for your invitations, venue, decor, food and drink, and nice parting gifts thanking your guests for attending. All of these components set the tone of your event. You can also determine the formality that you would like your affair to be, depending upon the personalities of the couple. Some may want an intimate, at home dinner, with close friends and family that could be impromptu, where you can play games such as Who knows the couple? , or other couples may want something more formal, such as a cocktail reception, exquisite decor, and mix and mingling, toasts for well-wishes and lots of music, dancing, and fun.

Keeping in line with etiquette, whoever is invited to your engagment party, must also be invited to the wedding. Typically, the engagement party will be hosted shortly after the proposal, anywhere from 1 to 3 months after. However, if you are having a relatively short engagement (meaning 6 months or less), then an engagement party is not necessary or appropriate. Also, an engagement party is simply an event that congratulates the couple, not one that is seen as a gift-bearing affair. Guests will want to provide a little token, but registry information is not appropriate for this affair.

Whatever your personality, Engagement Soirees are fun to plan and even more fun to attend. Remember, that this event is in honor of the couple, so happy planning!