Engagement party etiquette has changed a bit over the years. Knowing today's etiquette helps you create engagement party ideas to make your event enjoyable for everyone. You may wonder:
While today's engagement party ideas may be up to the bride and groom; traditionally, the bride's
parents host and plan the engagement party.
However, in today's engagement party etiquette, anyone close to the bride or groom may host their engagement party, including friends or groups of friends.
Additionally, engagement parties may be held at a variety of venues including clubs, homes,
restaurant, gardens and more.
Engagement party etiquette allows one to bring a gift,
but the future bride and groom should not register for engagement gifts, only wedding gifts.
Engagement gifts should be related to the period of engagement, not marriage. For instance,
stationary or luggage is an appropriate engagement gift, while a toaster oven should be saved for their
bridal registry. For more ideas on engagement party gifts see our engagement party gift ideas page.
Something to remember regarding engagement party etiquette is to pay close attention to the
engagement party invitation wording. Make sure your guests know what style of engagement party is
being hosted. Will it be a formal dinner party or a casual garden party?
If planning a dinner party to celebrate your engagement, a formal place setting might enhance
your experience. The place setting should correlate to the dinner menu, providing a utensil and
stemware for each dish and drink being served.
See our proper place setting guide for detailed information on how to create a formal place setting.
Some couples may wish to include engagement party activities and games in their events festivities. Engagement party games
should be appropriate to the style of the engagement party theme.
Conversation starter cards are
appropriate for dinner parties and cocktail parties. For more casual engagement party games, we
have a host of party games at our engagement party games page or view our engagement party ideas
page for more ideas on how to make your engagement party a truly special event.