Engagement Party Ins and Outs
Photo: Laurie Frankel
Guidelines for your engagement celebration guest list.
There’s an unforgettable moment on the road to your wedding: It’s when you walk into an event at which people from every corner of your life are gathered together for the first time — parents mingling with friends mingling with other relatives. And though you may feel a moment of alarm as you consider the stories they could exchange about you, there is something wonderful about this first glimpse of your family life as a married couple. For many couples, that moment occurs at their engagement party.
There are enough issues to stress over in the coming months; the details of the engagement party needn’t be among them. Traditionally, an engagement party is hosted by the bride’s parents, but in these untraditional times, the party may be hosted by friends of the bride and groom, or other relatives.
Often, the engagement celebration is a more intimate event than the wedding itself. The rules of etiquette suggest that guests invited to the engagement party should also be invited to the wedding, but the engagement party guest list will likely be shorter than that of your wedding. This is not the only accepted approach, however. Now, because so many people have very small weddings or hold their ceremonies far from friends and sometimes even family, the engagement party is becoming an accepted way to include those who will not be able to attend the wedding.
For a traditional party (which is to say, one given by the bride’s parents), both families should be invited. You will also want to invite close friends of both your families as well as your own close friends.
Visit MarthaStewartWeddings.com for: 50 Engagement Party Menu Ideas
