Etiquette 101: On Engagements - Sivan
01.28.14

Etiquette 101: On engagements

When I got engaged I barely knew anything that actually went along with the festivities let alone what you do when other people get engaged. It wasn’t until after I appointed my maid of honor that she informed me of all these “rules.” I want to quickly touch on the fact that my MOH actually did serious research to ensure we did everything properly, and that, my friends, is an amazing maid of honor. We will discuss bridal party obligations in another post, but I just had to point that out. So, if someone you are close to gets engaged here are some helpful pointers to keep in mind.

When someone gets engaged:

-Congratulate the happy couple with a bottle of champagne. To be extra cute, throw in some bridal magazines for the bride.

-If they are having an engagement party and are registered, bring a gift to the party off the registry.

-If they are having an engagement party without a registry, bring festive bubbly or ‘new couple’ gifts (as shows in the slideshow below).

-If you live in a different state (or just far away), it’s ok to wait until the wedding to bring/send a gift.

When YOU get engaged:

-Decide if you are having a bridal shower, engagement party, or both.

-Decide if you want to register for the engagement party or wedding.

-Give 30 days notice to guests for an engagement party.

-Everyone at the engagement party should be invited to the wedding, but not everyone invited to the wedding needs to be invited to the engagement party.

-Make sure everyone important in your life finds out in a “personal” way aka not on Facebook or Instagram. A phone call is acceptable.

-Send Thank You cards to every last gift, champagne bottle, and card people send.