5 Unique Engagement Party Ideas

Announce your engagement in style with these party ideas

An engagement party provides a way to share your happy news with friends and family. Engagement parties vary in size and formality, but everyone invited to the engagement party should also be invited to the wedding and reception.

Picking a theme for your engagement party helps tie together different elements of the celebration while streamlining the party planning process. Themes can be inspired by favorite foods, special interests, or a clever play on words.

Pop. Fizz. Clink.

Celebrate popping the question in style with a champagne themed party. Invite guests to attend dressed in their favorite formal wear.

1. Display white roses in gold vases and string stands of gold beads throughout the party space for a glamorous look.
2. Spell out the couple's names on painted champagne bottles for a cute yet inexpensive centerpiece. Alternatively, tie tags to champagne bottles and use them as table numbers.
3. Instead of a full meal, serve appetizers such as shrimp, smoked salmon, assorted cheeses, and chocolate covered strawberries. This cuts costs while encouraging guests to actively socialize instead of sitting at their tables and eating.
4. Send guests home with champagne glass party favors or sugar cookies decorated to look like glasses of champagne.

"I Do" BBQ

A BBQ is the perfect choice for a casual engagement party. Have the celebration in the backyard or a local park, letting nature provide most of your decorations. You can either let a friend handle the grilling or have your favorite BBQ joint cater the affair.

1. Decorate the tables with wildflowers arranged in empty glass wine bottles.
2. Use tablecloths and outdoor pillows in your wedding colors to create cozy spots for guests to visit.
3. Serve drinks in mason jars with vintage striped paper straws.
4. Have a few outdoor games on hand to play, such as oversized yard Yahtzee or a bean bag toss.
5. Send guests home with tiny bottles of BBQ sauce labeled with your names and wedding date.

How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You

Indulge your sweet tooth with a candy-themed engagement party. This playful party theme is perfect if your guest list includes lots of young children.

1. Fill large glass vases and bowls with associated colorful candies for guests to enjoy.  Add a few framed photos of the happy couple in between the candy filled containers.
2. Scatter rainbow confetti on a white tablecloth for a sprinkle inspired look.
3. Display vintage Candyland board game pieces as part of your décor.
4. Make a balloon arch or a balloon chandelier to add to the playful feel of the celebration.
5. Send guests home with chocolate bars featuring personalized wrappers.

A Carnival of Love

The perfect all-ages engagement party theme, this celebration lets you create an old-fashioned carnival for all your guest to enjoy.

1. Serve popcorn, cotton candy, caramel apples, and other carnival style treats.
2. Play ring toss, balloon darts, and other vintage carnival games. Have small heart shaped puzzles, rings, and other trinkets on hand to distribute as game prizes.
3. Set up an old-fashioned kissing booth and invite guests to get their picture taken next to the happy couple as they're kissing each other.
4. Hire a few local teens or college students to dress up as clowns. They can provide face painting, juggle, or make balloon animals.
5. Pass out boxes of Cracker Jacks for guests to take home as a cute party favor.

Let's Kickoff Our Future Together

While wedding showers are often parties for the bride, her friends, and the female members of the couple’s family, engagement parties are for men and women and are much less gift-oriented. If the groom loves football, a tailgating themed engagement party can be a unique way to mark the occasion.

1. Plan your party around a big game for your favorite team, so everyone can cheer the players while celebrating your impending nuptials.
2. Serve hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, and other classic tailgating foods, with football shaped cookies or decorated cupcakes for dessert.
3. Sketch out a traditional X and O diagram of a play on a chalkboard, then display it next to a photo of the happy couple kissing.
4. Decorate your table with pom poms and football helmets. If desired, add red lipstick prints to the football helmet.