Engagement Parties - What to Expect

In these modern times, when a couple decides to marry, there are a multitude of events they have to decide upon long before the wedding. Engagement parties, wedding showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and dinners for the families to meet, etc.!  Friends and family often start thinking about how much it’s going to cost them to support the happy couple. Are these events new or have they always been around?

Apparently, they’ve been around since ancient Greece when an engagement party was a commercial transaction between the father who gave his daughter in marriage and the groom. The bride was not present! Times have changed, thank God! In the US, engagement parties have been a tradition in the northeast for a long time. The practice has spread across the rest of the country in recent decades.

An engagement party is intended to announce and celebrate a couple’s recent engagement. Its purpose is also to help families and close friends who will be involved in the wedding get to know each other. The parties are traditionally held in the bride’s home, but some couples may want to throw their own.  If the engaged couple holds the party in a bar or restaurant, they should be thoughtful of the costs for guests.  A simple home engagement party with family and very close friends is safer these days and can be shared on social media so that everyone receives the news.

Remember during your engagement and wedding planning, that much of what couples feel they need for a “successful” engagement and wedding has been developed by the wedding industry. Keep it simple, be thoughtful of family and friends, but do plan to present and preserve your memories with professional photos!