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'Congratulations'
 May
I be the first to congratulate you both on your engagement, as your decision is both the first step on a long road to creating
a new life together and the start of preparations for your big day. I am pleased and honoured that you are considering my
services for such a joyous event.
Wherever and however you plan to celebrate with your friends and family, I have the experience to select and blend a variety
of music from all the generations attending your function to ensure that everybody has a good time. However, here are a few
important points to keep in mind when planning your engagement party:
Don't invite anyone who you will not be inviting to your wedding.
I am sure you would feel extremely insulted to have been invited to a friend or relative's engagement party and then be missed
off the wedding guest list.
The engagement party is, as the name suggests, a party, and not a formal or traditional occasion. Therefore, keep it small
and intimate and celebrate this happy time with only your closest relatives and friends. By doing this you will not only have
a great time but won't risk having to apologise to anyone for not inviting them to your wedding because you don't have room
for them in the church or reception venue.
At this early stage you may not even have set a date, let alone chosen a venue, and so you have no idea if you may well be
restricted to a certain number of guests because of your choice of reception venue.
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It's a party - not the wedding.
Do keep this in mind. You are excited about being engaged and planning your wedding and of course want to celebrate this happy
announcement. Try not to go over the top with your engagement party and put into practice all the novel ideas you have stored
up over the years for your perfect wedding.
It is easily done! Your wedding is still the most important out of these two occasions and you want to ensure that your wedding
does not pale or fall flat in comparison to your party.
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Other Issues
Do you issue formal invitations or just call up friends and invite them?
This is up to you, and with the sort of party you are having, some are more formal than others and a printed invitation to
a dinner at a hotel or private house would be the correct way to invite your guests, particularly as for such an occasion
an RSVP is required in order that correct numbers can be catered for. If you are meeting at a bar or restaurant or having
an informal gathering at your home, it would be appropriate to call or email your guests to let them know.
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Should you ask for gifts or will guests bring them?
If you are having a more formal occasion as mentioned above then guests will bring a gift. Engagement parties as with weddings
can result in you receiving unwanted gifts that you are unable to return, so you may want to think of having a modest list
at a favourite shop or asking for vouchers - alternatively you can ask your mothers to circulate the fact that guests can
ring them for ideas. Guests often assume they have to call the host's mother for such information anyway. If you are having
an informal occasion, it is unlikely guests will bring gifts other than a bottle of wine or champagne. You can make a point
of saying to them that no presents are allowed! At such a party it will only be your parents and close relatives who will
buy you a present and they will often have opted to do that regardless of whether or not you have a party to celebrate your
engagement.
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If you would like any assistance, without any commitment on your behalf, please feel free to Contact
me. I am happy to help the two of you plan both your engagement party and the entertainment for your wedding day, if you
wish.
Like any well run organisation, delegation of work load is the key to having a stress free party and a sack full of memories
to last you a lifetime.
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