Tag: who do you invite to an engagement party

So you are planning your engagement party–first and foremost, KUDOS! The engagement party is one of the more easy-going and lighthearted pre-wedding parties there will be. In fact, consider the engagement party being the event to kick off the festivities that will encompass your entire wedding planning experience. That is why there is so much emphasis on choosing the best engagement party invitations around–they will be the first thing people see as a representation of you both as a couple, so you have to make it as memorable as possible.

Some people ditch the engagement party altogether and instead, prefer to simply send out engagement announcements. This too, is a perfectly suitable option. Engagement announcements are a great way to keep all the friends and family in the loop about the joining of two hearts, without forcing all the hullabaloo of a party. Keeping it simple and easy with a few engagement announcements is a great way to stay classy without any unnecessary primping or planning.

Most people do, however, choose to throw an engagement party, or have one thrown for them. If so, ain’t no shame in your game folks. Engagement parties can be fun for everyone, even the happy couple. But you might be thinking…”well, who the heck do I even invite to an engagement party?” And to be honest, that is a phenomenal question.

First and foremost, proper etiquette states that everyone who is invited to the engagement party should be invited to the wedding, so keep that in mind when you are thinking long term. You might assume that you should invite a few of the acquaintances to the engagement party but not the wedding, and unfortunately that’s not how things normally go. However, keep in mind that you are the master of this ship, so if you want to throw a blowout engagement party and a simple, small wedding that is entirely up to you. Not everyone invited to the wedding needs to be invited to the engagement party, so keep that in mind, too.

So, who do you invite? The families of both sides should be an obvious list-topper, plus close friends, significant coworkers, neighbors, or of course, wedding party members. These are the people you want celebrating this big moment with you. While many people seem to think the engagement party is the most lax of them all and that dropping an invite for their friendly mailman is a good idea, that’s not usually the way to do things.

It also depends on the purpose of your engagement party and who is throwing it. If your family is throwing the party for you as a way to announce your engagement to everyone, then all major relatives and close friends should generally be invited. However, if your sending out some couples invitations on your own behalf and would like a bit more intimate affair to celebrate your engagement, then inviting close, mutual friends or other couples may be just the ticket.

Tip: there are certain people NOT to invite to an engagement party, which includes exes, children, and people who you have no desire to invite to your wedding. Again, this is different for everyone and for the type of party that is occurring, but just keep these tips and guidelines handy when you start shopping for cute party invitations.