Engagement party

No engagement party for us. Called everyone personally to let them know we are getting marrried.

We didn't- we've been together for 15 years though so all our family and friends pretty much know each other already. trying to save costs.

the night we got engaged we were on a vacation with his family and went for a nice meal that night- if that counts

We didn't have one

We got engaged at the end of June. We'd like to have an engagement party but hoping to have one when my gf also in our wedding party will be out during Christmas. But this also proves difficult with busy schedules. So undecided if we are going to have one yet. But I like the idea of everyone bringing there favourite bottle of alcohol instead of a gift. In order to have a well stocked bar. Great suggestions.

There's no real rule but it obviously makes sense to have an engagement party soon after the engagement

They are definitely not necessary to have though! Only about 25% of couples have an engagement party.

How to Celebrate Your Engagement Without Throwing a Party

Also check out these other community discussions about engagement parties for more ideas and feedback: Engagement Parties , Did you have an engagement party?

There's lots of good suggestions here but I didn't have any type of engagement party, only my bachelorette. There was no shower, party, jack and Jill. And I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

We had our engagement party 3 months after we got engaged. it was very nontraditional. We didn't invite any family (except our siblings) and we had a big house party with friends! Instead of bringing engagement gifts we asked everyone to bring a bottle of liquor so we had a fully stocked bar for the party! My future in laws wanted to throw us a more traditional party with family members, but it just wasn't something we were interested in. (and if you're worried about family living so far away, i think a "just friends" party is a super fun option!)

We had a 'best wishes only' (aka no gifts) engagement party about 3 weeks after we got engaged...but it was meant to be more of a house warming BBQ/open house party since we had just moved in together, but the party morphed a little in theme when he popped the question! For us, it was a nice way to get our families together and mingle a bit before the real insanity of wedding planning took over and it was so nice that at the wedding people from both sides knew each other already and felt comfortable socializing.

There's no rule on how soon after the engagement you should have an engagement party. You could plan to have it when it's easier for people to travel (i.e. when it's not snowing, etc.). It's definitely a nice way to celebrate and have people get excited for the wedding that will be in a few years.

We got engaged in December and had our engagement party in June so that we could have a backyard BBQ. Both of us have family from all over the place (within driving distance) and we had the party at my parents house. It started at 3pm and didn't have an end date so people could leave whenever they felt comfortable in order to get back home.

Hi Kaite, I think you can have an engagement party up to 6 months after getting engaged. There's no set rule as far as I know. You don't have to have it. I didn't. Also keep in mind that there are more parties to come such as bridal showers, bachelorette and bachelor parties, and Jack and Jill. That's at least 5 parties including the engagement party all before the wedding!! This can quickly add up financially and time-wise, not just for you but also for the families. When distance is a factor, maybe you should choose which gatherings are most important to you and focus your energies on them. If you and your fiancé want all of it, you may have to compromise and have one or two parties where your fiancé's family lives.