Truth be told, I’ve always thought engagement parties were kind of silly. The engagement is just one step – albeit a major one – to the wedding. In my mind, I would much prefer that people make the effort to join us to celebrate our actual wedding than our engagement.
But, when we got engaged in Colorado, I kept hearing from friends and family asking us when we were planning to throw a celebration in Chicago. While I was hesitant at first, I’m SO glad we made the decision to have a party after all. Though I am glad that we stressed that we did not want people to feel that they had to travel, and that we wanted no gifts. Having everyone there relaxed and to be able to enjoy themselves made the event that much better!
Forgive the millions of pictures, but this blog is basically my diary, and this is how I’ll be reliving the event in the future.
Because we were planning the event relatively last minute (booked our tickets two weeks prior!), we asked the moms to step in to help out. And WOW, did they deliver. Sending out invites, renting and moving furniture, ordering catering, setting up a full bar… and my mom and I even showed up matching!
I flew in less than 90 minutes before people were due to get to the house, so getting ready was a whirlwind for me. Quick change to the outfit I had Ray pack and hang up when he got in town on Wednesday, spruce up my makeup, munch a quick snack of chips and guac, and we were off to the races! Which means I had NO time to get emotionally ready for seeing all of my loved ones in the same room at one time. It was almost hilarious how much I was happy crying. ESPECIALLY when my best friend, Brittany, surprised me by flying in from Florida! I haven’t seen Britt since her wedding March 2014, so I was basically in awe of seeing her the full evening. Even making her stay the night so that we could catch up more after the party!
A little bit later into the evening, my mom and I gave a quick champagne toast to thank everyone for joining us to celebrate, and Ray and I released a prayer lantern filled with good wishes for our wedding. (Seen in the featured photo.)
Afterwards, everyone stepped inside to grab a bite to eat. Everyone said the food was fantastic. I loved the snacks that I had, but I couldn’t stop fluttering about, telling everyone how I excited I was to see them!
After everyone headed out for the night, a select group hung out to help clean up and enjoy some further conversation. But with Britt and I together, who have a LOT of memories together, we somehow found my old high school dance dresses. And once we found them, we of course decided to try them on!
If this is even slightly a preview of the events to come, then everything will be a BLAST, I’ll feel like I didn’t get to talk to anyone/talked to everyone all at the same time, and the memories will absolutely last a lifetime.
THANK YOU to everyone that made this party go off without a hitch, and to everyone that joined us, especially with such last minute notice. I can’t wait to keep the celebration going in the year ahead!
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Have you ever been to an engagement party? Would you or have you hosted or joined an engagement party?
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