Before your Florida Destination Wedding - Tips for Engagement Party Planning

Becoming engaged is so exciting!  Beach Elope can help you plan your Florida Beach Wedding on the beautiful Emerald Coast.  But when and where to have the engagement party, how big it should be, and who is hosting it are all questions Sandy Malone answers in her article for brides.com:

3 Things to Consider When Planning Your Engagement Party

Monday, January 12, 2015 

by Sandy Malone

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Photo: Getty Images

Did you get engaged over the holiday season? It's a popular time of year for proposals. And what comes next? A slew of engagement parties for all the lucky couples. But when and where to have the engagement party, how big it should be, and who is hosting it are all questions you've got to tackle. You don't want to start your wedding planning or your wedding events off on the wrong foot. Here are three tips to get you started:

1. Don't feel rushed. 
Just because you got engaged in December or January doesn't mean you have to have the engagement party right away. Waiting several months is commonplace so that you have all of your ducks in a row. Plus, with so many couples making that commitment during the holidays, too many engagement parties tend to crowd the calendar close to Valentine's Day. You want yours to be special. As long as it you have it several months before the wedding and prior to any other pre-wedding showers or events, it's okay to wait.

2. Figure out when you're getting married and who you are inviting before you accept the offer of having someone throw a party. 
That's the trick to the etiquette of this. Anybody invited to the engagement party (and other pre-wedding events) must also be invited to the actual wedding. It's safe for those guests at the engagement party to assume they are on your really wedding guest list and if they're not, you may end up with serious hurt feelings later on.

3. Start your wedding gift registry before the engagement party invitations go out. 
Do not put the registry information on the invitations, but it's okay for the hostess to know where you are registered in case anyone asks. Plus your mom can help spread the word. It's not a gift-grab, it's a courtesy. Plenty of guests will do something off the list, but just as many are likely to get you something that you really want if they search online and find your registry.

Owner of Weddings in Vieques, a destination-wedding planning company off the coast of Puerto Rico, Sandy Malone has helped countless couples plan their big day since 2007.

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