Engagement Party Ideas

Before word gets around that your ring finger on the left hand is no longer lonely, an engagement party serves as the perfect way to announce your impending nuptials to family and friends. If you're not urgently awaiting an engagement party to spread the good news, you might be wondering when is a good time to plan such an event. If you follow the usual suggestions of etiquette books, expect to hold this particular event from four months to a year before you walk down the aisle.

To get you started, we have included a few engagement party ideas for you to consider:

Invites – Alert the Calvary

When it comes time to create a guest list for your engagement party, keep in mind that you shouldn’t invite people who will not be receiving an invite to the wedding – unless it is clear that many of your closest family and friends will be unable to attend (destination wedding). Depending on the type of engagement party you foresee, your method of inviting guests will differ:

• Formal Get-Together: Dinner at a hotel or private location usually calls for printed invitations.
• Bar or Restaurant: Your choice of informal invitations, phone call, or sending an email.
• Informal Gathering at Your House: Call up guests or send an email.

In-Home Cocktail Party

Looking for engagement party ideas to liven up a home setting? Perhaps you'd like to host a cocktail party, where guests spend a Friday or Saturday night toasting to the future wedding within the comforts of your own home. Keep a collection of favorite tunes to keep the party going – there's nothing wrong with pulling out a few 'blasts from the past' for a few laughs. For a cocktail engagement party, don't forget to offer 'virgin' alternatives for designated drivers and non-drinkers, as well as filling appetizers.

Romantic Outdoor Extravaganza

When the weather conditions seem in your favor, planning a simple outdoor engagement party is a romantic way to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Convening at a breathtaking garden or meeting at a local park with a gaggle of your closest friends and relatives could prove quite relaxing for nature lovers at heart. Imagine a sundown jamboree with a spread of cheese and crackers, pastries, and fruit – accompanied by a glass of wine or champagne.

Honeymoon Piggyback

Plenty of people mold their engagement party around their honeymoon plans. From an intimate pasta dinner with pleasant Italian décor to placing leis around guests for a Hawaiian hoedown, engagement party ideas seem never-ending when you use a specific destination as inspiration. You simply can't go wrong!