Bride-to-be Blogger Kristy: Our (Second) Engagement Party

Kristy and Eric at their second engagement party this past weekend.

Eric and I celebrated our halfway point this past weekend: We were exactly in between our engagement and our wedding—nine months in, with nine months to go. It was an exciting day because the past nine months seem to have flown by, and I can only imagine the next nine will hydro-speed past us. I can’t help but smile every time I catch myself dreaming of our wedding day. Regardless of the amount of years we have been dating, I become overjoyed with the thought of committing our lives to each other and starting our future together.

Another exciting thing that we did on our halfway day was have another engagement party. My parents threw Eric and I an engagement party in South Jersey earlier in the summer, and Eric’s dad threw one for us in North Jersey this past weekend.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea of an engagement party, because although our friends and family were happy for our engagement, we got a lot of “about time” responses. So, I figured most of our families and friends had done their celebrating for us—but boy, was I wrong. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to agree to an engagement party, maybe consider a few of these things:

• It’s a great prelude to the Big Day. You figure out how to socialize with as many people as possible, and make repeating the same information effortless and exciting. Also, since we had one engagement party months before the other, most of the planning, decorations, and coordination were done the first time around, which made the second party happen much more easily. (Hopefully the same applies to the wedding day!)
• You get to be personally congratulated, something that’s so much better than a phone call, text, or email. Seeing everyone’s smiles and receiving hugs was very heart warning.
• It gives you a chance to showcase your personalities. Since not all of Eric’s family friends were familiar with my background, we played a questionnaire game asking where I was born, what sports I played in high school, etc., to allow everyone at the party to learn a little about me.
• People meet! My parents were able to meet all of Eric’s family friends, and even our own friends were able to socialize, so everyone knows each other before the Big Day!
• People will bring gifts, even if you ask for donations instead. So, be prepared with thank-you cards and plenty of hugs. And don’t forget to thank the people that threw the party; who helped set up, clean up, and hosted the party (Thanks, Mom and Dad, and Mr. D!).
• It’s a party and a celebration—what more could you ask for?

Both of our engagement parties were absolutely amazing, and we had a great time catching up with everyone and sharing everyone’s joy and happiness. Plus, it really excited us for the Big Day and help put everything into perspective.

Did you have any other engagement party advice? Why did you decide or not decide to have one?

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