Engagement parties are great for getting people together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Typically, the engagement party should happen six months or more before the actual wedding date, so the two celebrations are far enough apart not to seem redundant. Read on for tips on how to plan an engagement party of your dreams.

Formality of an engagement party
First, you have to decide on the style of party you want to have. Usually more casual than the wedding, an engagement party can be a barbecue, celebration at a restaurant or an event consisting of drinks, finger food and dessert.

Once you know the kind of event you want to have, you will be in better shape to choose the venue, food, drinks, entertainment, date and guest list. Making this choice will be the first step in how to plan an engagement party.

The venue
The place at which you have the party should reflect the vibe of the party and work within the budget. It should not be too far away, so factor in at most an hour’s drive for most guests; be sure that the space will accommodate the size of your guest list.

The guest list
The guest list for an engagement party is usually smaller than the wedding itself, and can be just immediate family and some friends, or larger if that’s your plan. Regardless of the number of guests, remember this one important rule: only invite guests to the engagement party if they will be invited to the wedding! Guests should not need to come in from out of town for an engagement party because travel expenses are enough to ask for one event and you’d prefer they attend the wedding. Remember that the size of your budget will also dictate the size of your guest list.

Gifts?
While guests to an engagement party are not obligated to bring gifts, many will. They may ask where the couple is registered, so it’s good for the couple to have registered at a couple of stores for some things they would like. Don’t make gift opening part of the party. Instead, do it after the party ends, and send out thank you notes promptly. After the wedding there will be many more to write so send these soon to avoid the awkwardness of thanking for two different gifts.

Invitations
Select invitations (or print your own) based on the type of event you’re having. Choose colors, pictures, paper and fonts in accordance with the formality and characteristics of the event. Send invitations a month to six weeks ahead of the party.

Entertainment
It’s great to have a few games to play that playfully honor the couple and involve everyone in festive fun. Search online for engagement party games. Also, dancing is a way for everyone to celebrate together, so whether it’s karaoke or a DJ, have good music playing.