Engagement Announcement Etiquette - Guide to the Right Steps

Here, you will learn briefly about engagement announcement etiquette and protocol.

When you get engaged, you're going to find that you suddenly enter a world filled with rules and regulations as to what's really proper and what's completely frowned upon.

Even the most relaxed and casual couples might find themselves being sucked into the frustrating land of etiquette, so it's a good idea to know what you're up against before you even begin with the engagement announcements.

So, who do you tell and how do you tell it? Should you tell your best friend first, or is it essential to tell someone else? The two of you already know, of course, but what now?

Believe it or not, you are entering into a world where hurt feelings and misunderstandings run rampant, so it's a good idea to have it all under control before you start making phone calls. So, what do you need to know regarding engagement announcement etiquette?

• Tradition dictates that the immediate family gets the good news first, and if you really are traditional and wish to be so when it comes to engagement announcement etiquette, you're going to want to start with the bride's parents. Now, if either of you have children, you will want to let them be the first to know, but from there, you tell the bride's parents and siblings, and then repeat the process with the groom's family and siblings. This is done best when it's a face to face gathering, as there will be hand shaking and congratulations all around, so it might be a good time to plan a small family gathering with your immediate family to share the good news.
  
  
• What's next for engagement announcement etiquette? Once everyone in the family knows, you might choose to let your good friends know by shooting them a quick phone call or email. If you're close, maybe you'll want to get together with your friends for dinner or drinks to share the news, but some people choose to keep it a secret until they decide if they will have an engagement party.
  
  
• From here, the next thing that's part of engagement announcement etiquette is that you're going to want to plan on getting both families together so they can meet and get to know each other a little bit. If this is the first time they are meeting, you may want to consider going for a luncheon or dinner somewhere. Keep it relatively small and intimate if you like, but make sure you can get everyone together. Now, just because the mother of the groom is traditionally responsible for setting up a meeting, you may choose to take it upon yourself to do the planning, or if you're the bride, maybe have your mom set something up.
  
  
• When it's time to formally announce your engagement to the rest of the world, you might choose to do so in a few ways, which are all acceptable and appropriate under engagement announcement etiquette, or you can opt for more than one way. For instance, if you are planning to have an engagement party, this is when you will announce your engagement. This can be large and elaborate, or small and intimate, depending on your personal style.

  Or, you might choose to put an announcement in your local newspaper. The bride's parents might choose to do this, but you might also decide that you want to do so on your own. The other alternative when it comes to engagement announcement etiquette is to send out formal engagement announcements. Usually, these will go to everyone on your invitation list, and this is where feelings can get hurt - if you don't plan to invite someone to your wedding, don't send them an announcement.

Engagement announcements really aren't that hard, and the etiquette behind this traditional practice has been lightened up, so you really don't have to worry about who does what.

However, make sure you follow the right order when sharing your news, and make sure that if you send formal engagement announcements out, you intend to invite to your wedding everyone who has received an announcement, just to make sure that you're following the "rules". If you follow such overall engagement announcement etiquette, you should find that the rest just falls in place.

Read More: How to Announce Your Engagement | Engagement Announcements | Engagement Poems and Verses | Love Quotes, Sayings and Verses | Love Poems | Other Engagement and Wedding Ideas | Home Page | Site Search

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