We are trying to save money as we are moving in July. I personally dont believe in them but everyone in my family has done them. How do you do this inexpensively?
tbmaz2011
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
You can do it in a family members backyard in the spring/summer. That is what we did and it saved us a lot of money. You can bbq or order hero's nothing fancy. We had some people make dishes, which saved us money as well. We didn't spend a lot of money and MIL helped paying for the party as well.
Karrie D
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
I agree! You can do it this Spring/Summer....have a nice relaxed BBQ. That way you will get a lot of the things you need now and then the rest at your bridal shower!
JNB818
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by Karrie D
I agree! You can do it this Spring/Summer....have a nice relaxed BBQ. That way you will get a lot of the things you need now and then the rest at your bridal shower!
This!
katnwill
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
I agree with all of the above. I'm having my engagement party in May/June in my father's backyard. I will have everyone in my family make a dish. My FSIL will be making the cake, chocolate lollipops, and favors. I was going to rent a venue but FH thought it was too and after thinking about it I agree. Trying to save as much money as possible.
pixietina
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
I had a bbq in a public park. I bought the main food and had my guests bring drinks, sides, and chips. I bought all my decorations from 99 cent stores. I think I spent 250 in total for 40 people.
JuneBug86
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
I agree with the ladies here. We had one in my fiance's parents house and both our family members helped prepare the food, it was informal but very fun. It was a great way for our families to get to know each other.
Royalgem21
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Definitely worth it depending on how much you spend. However, If you read up on etiquette, the engagement party is not usually something that you would give out registry information. It's really to announce your engagement and celebrate.
HOWEVER trust me, people do give gifts and usually cash. You might have 1 or 2 people ask if you're registered yet but most people give cash. We thought about NOT having one because it was expensive but it was more than worth it in the gifts we received. I was amazed actually. We also had it at a very inexpensive but good restaurant for 18pp. We invited immediate family only and the bridal party. On the invitation, I called it a family dinner so it was clear. No DJ and I didn't even have favors. I don't think anyone noticed. It was 3 hours long.
M&M2011
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by Royalgem21
Definitely worth it depending on how much you spend. However, If you read up on etiquette, the engagement party is not usually something that you would give out registry information. It's really to announce your engagement and celebrate.
HOWEVER trust me, people do give gifts and usually cash. You might have 1 or 2 people ask if you're registered yet but most people give cash. We thought about NOT having one because it was expensive but it was more than worth it in the gifts we received. I was amazed actually. We also had it at a very inexpensive but good restaurant for 18pp. We invited immediate family only and the bridal party. On the invitation, I called it a family dinner so it was clear. No DJ and I didn't even have favors. I don't think anyone noticed. It was 3 hours long.
Agreed! My parents are throwing us one in March. Initially, I was against it because I didn't want it to appear as though we're looking for gifts/money, but we eventually decided to go for it. It's a very casual, Sunday afternoon party-- with salads, wraps, etc. We're not registering, as we won't have time and most people do give money as a gift. It's more a chance for the families and wedding party to get better acquainted. We're having close family and friends. We've also made it know to members of our weddings party that we do not want gifts, as they will be spending money to be in the wedding.
At the end of the day, it's totally up to you and what you feel comfortable with.
lauren1802
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
ours is going to be sunday afternoon in april. low key, at the parent's house. it's a little over 6 months from when we got engaged, but we wanted to have an inside/outside party so we had to wait
Cataverri
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
We didnt have an engagement party, didnt really care for one. But if you guys want to have a party I suggest a backyard and have family help you cook.
Good luck!
leesah85
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by tbmaz2011
You can do it in a family members backyard in the spring/summer. That is what we did and it saved us a lot of money. You can bbq or order hero's nothing fancy. We had some people make dishes, which saved us money as well. We didn't spend a lot of money and MIL helped paying for the party as well.
ITA with this
cdh2672
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by Cataverri
We didnt have an engagement party, didnt really care for one. But if you guys want to have a party I suggest a backyard and have family help you cook.
Good luck!
ITA!!
Moonmist09
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
we didn't have one. if we did, we would have had to pay for it and no one would have paid for us to have one. seemed like mor eof an expense than it was worth. and here we are happily married 7 months later - proof you don't need one
but i'm totally with all the other posters suggestions. if you want to do something really low key, do a BBQ as soon as the weather gets nice and keep it casual.
Bride2Be78
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by Cataverri
We didnt have an engagement party, didnt really care for one. But if you guys want to have a party I suggest a backyard and have family help you cook.
Good luck!
This!
kattus
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
We had a housewarming/engagement party with a couple of friends at our place. IMO There is no need to throw together a lot of $$$$$ when you are already having a shower, RD and receptiom catered.
Bride2012
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
We had a friend party in my fil house. We never did a family party. We had almost 50 people at our friend party. We was going to have a family party which is like another 50 people after but we ended buying a house. My parents got it catered which helped a lot. We sent about 500 but we overdid it with liquor and a keg that no one drank! I got a lot of stuff at BJ's. It was fun but it went soooo fast! We did it in the summer so it was nice out. I think we will have a house warming/engagement party for the family in the spring. I'll probably bbq. I don't know if that helps?
torresm
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by Royalgem21
Definitely worth it depending on how much you spend. However, If you read up on etiquette, the engagement party is not usually something that you would give out registry information. It's really to announce your engagement and celebrate.
HOWEVER trust me, people do give gifts and usually cash. You might have 1 or 2 people ask if you're registered yet but most people give cash. We thought about NOT having one because it was expensive but it was more than worth it in the gifts we received. I was amazed actually. We also had it at a very inexpensive but good restaurant for 18pp. We invited immediate family only and the bridal party. On the invitation, I called it a family dinner so it was clear. No DJ and I didn't even have favors. I don't think anyone noticed. It was 3 hours long.
This!! We just had our engagement party. Everytime someone asked me where we were registered, I insisted their presence was enough of a gift. No matter how many times we insisted, we still left the engagement party with gifts and money we are grateful for. It's paying our first payment for the RH! And on top of that it was so nice to spend time with our friends and family All the people we love under one roof, you cant beat that!
LilinBobby
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
We are doing our's at a restaurant in Roslyn. We are only inviting parents, parents sibling (aunts and uncles) and their kids. We have a bridal party of 20 because my FH is crazy and wanted his 3 brothers (totally understandable) and ALL of our first cousins in the bridal party! and that makes up the number 20!!
So we have about 30 people and we are going to ask the bridal party that day. I am surprising the girls with 'Will you be my Bridesmaid' boxes and FH is giving the groomsmen engraved knives (weird..I know). So that's it. I mean some people have really big e-parties, some have really small and some don't have one at all. The third day after sent out the invites I had phone calls asking where we were registered so the next day I went and registered at BBB. LOL It's really up to you whether you want to have one or not. I like the backyard bbq idea! I would have done that except I didn't want to go over the 6th month mark after being engaged. We got engaged Oct. 22nd so March is like the 5 month mark.
Shimmerette
Posted:
Member since
Re: Is it worth doing an engagement party??
Posted by pitbull2
We are trying to save money as we are moving in July. I personally dont believe in them but everyone in my family has done them. How do you do this inexpensively?
I personally didn't feel that an engagement party was necessary, but my FMIL was so excited about the engagement that she wanted to throw one for us in her backyard. It wasn't exactly a bbq, since she had it catered, but it was very nice and pretty laid back. I do not think it should be necessary for you to shell out a bunch of extra money for another party. If it is that important to your family, then maybe someone will throw you one. Traditionally, I think that is typically how it is done anyway, as I recall the bride and groom do not usually fund their engagement parties. Disclaimer, I am by no means a wedding etiquette expert, so I may totally be making this up!
