5 Tips to Consider When Planning an Engagement Party

Hosting an engagement party is the perfect way to show your support for a recently engaged couple. Whether the party is for your friend or a family member, you’ll want it to be memorable. As the planner, you’ll need to consider food, invitations, budget, and more.

Why choose Village Catering?

If you need the perfect event location, call Village Catering. Our venue, the family-owned Cottage Green, is available for parties of various sizes, and our team at Village Catering will ensure that your engagement party is seamless, right down to the choice of cuisine. In addition, we can help you get the ball rolling with five helpful planning tips.

1. Determine the guest list.

As a general rule, it’s best to work with the new couple when planning the guest list. Most people who are invited to the wedding are usually also invited to the engagement party. Spend a little extra time on this part of the planning process so that you don’t have any unexpected surprises the date of the party.

2. Keep the decorations simple.

It’s easy to go overboard with the decor, but it’s also unnecessary. Flowers make beautiful centerpieces. You can hand-pick some sunflowers for the occasion or go with bunches of wildflowers for a simple yet rustic feel. Another personal touch is to place a few special, framed pictures of the new couple on tables.

3. Be ready to give a toast.

As the host or hostess, you should be prepared to thank all of your guests for coming to the engagement party to help you celebrate. Find out ahead of time if other guests will want to make toasts, as well.

4. Don’t be shy with your camera.

As the planner extraordinaire, you will likely be busy attending to multiple tasks on the day of the engagement party. Ask another guest to take over with the camera and have him or her shoot as many pictures as possible. Another option is to leave disposable cameras on the tables so that guests can be photographers. If it’s in your budget, you can also opt for a professional photographer.

5. Decide what to do about gifts.

Will your guests bring gifts to the party? Engagement party gift etiquette can be confusing. To avoid any confusion, make a decision and then stick with it. You can have “no gifts, please” printed on the invitations or you can list where the couple is registered. Both of these options will help people on your guest list understand what to do about gifts.

For more wedding planning tips, give us a call at 215-437-3337.