engagement party questions

so my family wants to throw me and FH an engagement party which we are excited about but totally clueless about too!

my parents were thinking more of a brunch/lunch at a restaurant type of thing. we would take a private room in a restaurant and have 3 courses - appetizer, entree and occasion cake and have some alcohol (either champagne punch or mimosa's depending on the place). we wouldn't have a DJ/dancing. We would decorate with small flower centerpieces on the tables.

is that normal for an engagement party? i don't really know if i've ever been to one so i was hoping you guys could give me any insight on what an engagement party is like and if we should do anything specific. does what i mentioned sound okay or is that too similar to a shower? besides playing games at a shower, is there any real difference between the two parties? what should i add or change to what i already mentioned?

Please help! I'm so confused! ANY help is appreciated. TIA!!

also, any info about your parties would be much appreciated! thanks again!

You can do whatever you want. If it's going to work for you, then do it.

Personally, my engagement party was on our property and we had just catered food, a tent, and a DJ. Other options that were considered include a restaurant or a hall.

FILs threw us an engagement party at a restaurant in a private room. It was like a 1-5pm thing and we had i think 4 courses, no dj, and it was perfect. we definitely didn't need any fillers, the time was spent eating and talking and it seriously FLEW by.

good to hear.

we were hoping for the shower at FIL's parents house since it'll be a much smaller guest count and we will plan it for spring/summer 2013. also, it'll likely be in november so outdoors options are out for the e-party.

i think i was just concerned about the lack of fillers/music. i'm glad someone else did something along the lines of what we were thinking and glad you loved it and it worked out well!

thank you! more suggestions appreciated!!

That's the exact type of e-party FH and I had. We had it at the Fat Fish in Bay Shore on their outdoor deck. They offer all sorts of catering options. We got so many compliments on our choice of venue. Check out the link below.

Fat Fish Catering Menus

Some of the things we did to make it special was getting centerpieces, putting votives around the room and making favors. Also, our moms did a picture table that was decorated with flowers and pics of FH and me. It sounds cheesy but it looked adorable and everyone loved it.