Planning A Wedding For Dummies - Sarah Lizabeth Barker

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as possible. Your guests may have booked their holiday weekends far in advance because it may be the only time they get off work. When booking a holiday wedding, be thoughtful of religious holidays and Mother’s and Father’s Day. The people you’re inviting may love you like family, but they may want to be with their family on those days.

      

Regardless of what your date may be, I am here to help you make it a perfect day. Don’t forget to celebrate your engagement, enjoy the planning process, and date your fiancé. It’s the foundation of a perfect day.

      Sharing the Exciting News

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

How to share the good news

      

Picking your bridal party

      

Throwing all those showers

      It’s time to start spreading the news! You’ve celebrated, you understand the importance of enjoying the planning process, you and your fiancé have continued to date, you’ve picked the perfect wedding date, and now you get to let everyone know! Well, you’ll let those you want to know and save the rest for later.

      When I buy a gift for someone, I typically can’t wait for them to receive it, so the minute I buy it, I give it to them. “Here’s your Christmas gift in October!” It’s confusing to them, but I’m just so excited that I can’t stand it and I want them to have it. This is obviously not what you’re supposed to do. The same thing is true for announcing your engagement and inviting your guests to the wedding. There is a process and a time when you should let everyone know.

      In this chapter, we’ll discuss the timing of spreading the good news, work though how to inform your people, learn about picking your bridal party, and explore all the fun parties we get to throw along the way. Let the fun begin!

      Even though you’re so excited to share the good news, there’s a process to whom you tell first and when you let everyone else know. I know you want to shout it to the world, and you will soon. Surely your fiancé had a ring before the proposal. If they had given it to you the day they purchased it, that moment wouldn’t have been as special as the one you had. There is beauty in the waiting because you and your fiancé have a little secret between the two of you that no one knows.

      In this section we’ll discuss how to announce your engagement, throwing your engagement party, and the social media announcement.

      Announcing your engagement

      Being engaged is an exciting time. You finally found the one you’ll spend the rest of your life with, and that person asked you to marry them. That’s a big-deal life moment to be celebrated and shared with the world. But how do you do that? When can you finally change your relationship status? Here are some tips on how to announce your engagement, listed in the order that I suggest you follow when it’s time to let everyone know that great news!

       It’s between the two of you. Before you share the news of your engagement with anyone else, take time to celebrate with just the two of you. Because we live in an instant society, many people don’t do this. Everyone wants things immediately, but when you wait and take a minute just to celebrate together, it makes the sharing with everyone else even more special. You stopped and took a minute to look each other in the eye and be grateful that all the steps you have taken in life led you to each other. You are about to get bombarded with congratulation texts, likes on social media, and phone calls. Before the chaos begins, pause and be grateful that you have each other.

       Put family first. It’s important to make sure your family knows first. As a mother, if I saw on social media that one of my daughters was engaged and they didn’t tell me first, they would be in trouble. When letting family know, reach out to them via phone or video chat if you’re unable to see them in person. Do not send them a text. This is big news and deserves to be shared with your family in person or over the phone. There are so many fun ways you can let them know. Maybe plan a visit with them and ask them what they’re doing in the fall. Then say, “Well Dad, I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle!” Make it special for those you love, the most important people in your life.

       Share on social media. I’m certain you have seen your friends post about their engagement. You want to be happy for them, but you wish it was you. Well, now it’s your time to share with the world! Later in this section we’ll discuss some fun ways to share the news on social media. For now, it’s time to let everyone know on social media and change your relationship status. Post on social media first so that everyone can see that you got engaged. Your friends will comment and like and celebrate with you. A few days later, change your relationship status. This will allow time between both posts for your friends to see the original post that you got engaged. Additionally, keep the details of your wedding to yourself. You won’t be inviting all of your social media friends, so those who aren’t invited to your wedding won’t be hurt by seeing the details and never getting an invite.

       Consider the mail. I know, no one mails anything anymore. That’s what makes mailing an engagement announcement so special! I would suggest a postcard announcement to save on postage, and it’s something that can go on your friends’ fridges. This will also allow you the chance to lock in your guest list. This is not the a Save-the-Date; that will come later. How special would it be for someone to receive an announcement in the mail? I don’t know about you, but I love getting mail, especially if it isn’t a bill. If you got engaged around the holidays, design a cute holiday card announcing your engagement. Holiday cards are perfect for Save-the-Dates as well.

      Planning the engagement party

      Who doesn’t love a good party? This girl does! An engagement party is a wonderful way to bring those you love together to celebrate. In this section, we’ll discuss who’s throwing the party, the timing of the party, who to invite, location, how to invite your guests, the ambiance, food, and what to wear.

       Who’s throwing the party? Traditionally the brides’ parents would host the engagement party. However, today anyone can throw the party. Often, the couple hosts their own party to celebrate with friends and family. It’s also acceptable to have multiple engagement parties. Let’s say your parents live in another state. It’s your hometown and a lot of your close friends still live near where your parents live. Most likely, those people will be invited to your wedding. Have your parents host an engagement party in your hometown. You may also have a group of friends who live where you and your fiancé currently live. You as a couple can throw your own engagement party where you live with your close friends.

       Timing of the party. It’s best to host a party as close to your engagement as possible. If you’ve been engaged for over six months, the excitement of your engagement has probably dwindled because you’re now in full wedding planning mode. Celebrate your engagement when everyone is excited about the news and before you have dived face first into planning your wedding. Be prepared for the questions to begin. When is the wedding? Where are you having the wedding? Do you have a dress? If you host the engagement party as close to the engagement as possible you can reply, “We don’t know any details yet, we are just excited to celebrate our engagement first. We will start planning soon and will let you know all the details as soon as possible.”

       Who

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