Engagement Party?

My now husband told all our friends/family when we were getting engaged and they all came to celebrate that night. I personally would have never wanted a whole separate engagement party and he knew that.
If you're someone who likes to plan/celebrate then go for it, but honestly no one I know has done one that was more than a weekend past when they got engaged.

Totally personal preference. My fiancé and I didn’t have one

Totally depends! Usually that is something that someone would throw for you, including your parents.

We had one because my partner and I live in a different city from my parents, so my mom's friends hosted a party for us so that my partner could meet my parents whole social circle. It was really fun and a great way for him to meet everybody before the wedding.

Standard in general? No. Standard for certain cultures and/or regions and/or families? Sure.

No one I know has had one and I have only seen them in movies/on TV, but some people do have them.

Congratulations to you and your FH we didn't have a party we did champagne toast with some family members. Just alot of Congratulations from family amd friends my kids got me some balloons that fit with begin engaged. It would have been nice to have a party for us to celebrate with family and friends. But now just doing wedding planning now date is close 10/30/22

We got engaged during covid, so things weren't quite the same for us as we were in lockdown for at least 4-6 months after our engagement, but we wouldn't have had an engagement 'party' as such - we would have done something much more low key.

I think we would have announced our engagement on social media, and then asked our friends if they were free to go to a pub to celebrate - we often agree to meet up on a Saturday afternoon for some drinks and a catch up, so this isn't unusual for us, the engagement would just be a reason to instigate the invitation, type thing.

Of course, this is all very regional and cultural, isn't it? It's not so common here to have an engagement party. Back in the day, it was the quickest, easiest way to get your friends and family together to spread the news and to celebrate it, but now with social media, we don't need to do that any more, and it can feel a bit gift-grabby, but celebrating life's milestones is important, and there's nothing wrong with having a party if you want!

Engagement parties are not mandatory at all. Like showers, it depends on whether someone wants to throw a party in your honour.

It all depends! Normally, that is something that someone, including your parents, would throw for you.

I've only seen this in movies. I would imagine this puts pressure on the bride and groom to finalize their wedding guest list earlier. You would be inviting hurt feelings if you invite some persons to the engagement party, but ultimately had to leave them off the wedding guest list for whatever reason.

I’ve never heard of engagement parties except on the crime drama shows set in NYC. They aren’t a thing in our social circles.



Some people announce their engagement on social media and others keep it quiet among close family and friends only.

If you want to have an engagement party or announcement then go for it! I've only been to one for my future brother- and sister-in-law, and we really didn't know anyone there so we didn't stay long enough that I'd have any clue what went down lol.

We got engaged right before the pandemic, so that pretty much made the decision about a party for us. I would have loved to have some friends over for pizza and champagne purely to celebrate (read: not as a gift-giving type of thing). We were also planning to have a nice dinner out with our parents and siblings after we graduated from school as a combo graduation/ engagement celebration.

They are common in certain cultures. My friends in India had an engagement party that was almost as elaborate as their wedding reception!

We had an engagement party because a lot of my fiancé's family, including his parents, live overseas. We wanted to celebrate with them and have everyone meet before the wedding happens.

As with almost all things wedding, you do you! If you want to have one, go for it - but don't feel pressured or like you *have* to have one if you're not into it.

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Ours also very clearly wasn't a gift-giving event - just a chance for our families to get together and celebrate - and we had pizza and champagne. Although my future MIL did surprise us with a cake!

I’ve seen some people have them, but it’s not necessarily a customary, required thing. I know my FSIL had one when she got engaged 5 years ago, but my FH and I got engaged when Delta was still going around and a bit before Omicron became big, so we didn’t have an engagement party for that reason. As PPs above have said, that also pressures you to put together your guest list early, because with any pre-wedding event, you should never ever invite someone who is not going to be invited to the wedding.