How To Plan an Engagement Party

1. The Basics

You can't have a party without a date, venue and guest list. So it's time for you and your partner to get your plans locked in. Usually, an engagement party takes place one to three months after the engagement so you're still in the proposal bubble.

If you're celebrating in the summer a cute garden party is the perfect setting to celebrate love or if it's a winter proposal choose a room or house to host your party.

To figure out how big your venue needs to be make a draft of your guest list, obviously, you want everyone you love to be there so make a list of friends and family you can't imagine celebrating without. Send out your engagement party invites ASAP so you can get RSVPs and figure out numbers for catering and drinks packages if you choose a venue with the option.

2. Entertainment

Now you've decided on your date and venue it's time to think about what entertainment you want through the night. If you're booking a venue a live band is the perfect way to get your guests up dancing - make sure you let them know all of your and your partner's favourite songs to make it personal to you!

If you're throwing a party at home check out our Engagement Party Playlist featuring the best songs all about love and marriage - guaranteed to start a few singalongs.

For a fun game to get everyone talking, sit the happy couple in the centre of the room and take off their shoes. Swap one shoe each and ask questions like:

• Who’s funnier?
• Who owns the most shoes?
• Who’s the best chef?
• Who's most likely to forget an anniversary?
• Who's always late?
• Who's always first on the dancefloor?
• Who falls asleep first?
• Who snores louder?

Let the couple raise a shoe for who they think the question relates to and see how it all unfolds.

3. Food and Drink

Although you don't need to provide your guests with a full 3-course meal it's nice to put on a few nibbles so that guests can eat throughout the night. If you're throwing an engagement party on a budget it's a great idea to make your own food table or grazing board - this way you can save some pennies for your wedding fund!

A grazing board is the perfect option for late-night parties where guests won't want a full meal. Conveniently made for grazing as the party goes on our ring-shaped grazing boards look super cute on any food table. Build your board with cheese, crackers, cured meats, dips and bread to keep all your guests happy. You can easily create veggie and vegan boards too by swapping out ingredients. For those with a sweet tooth celebrate finally getting a ring with some ring donuts and paper diamond toppers.

If you're throwing your engagement party at home without a bar you could make it a BYOB celebration so that guests can enjoy the drinks they prefer, but if you'd like you can serve a glass of fizz or two to raise a toast! So you're guests can help themselves pre-pour your fizz so they can be displayed on a drinks board easy to grab as the night goes on.

Another personal idea is to create a signature drink, maybe the bride loves a Woo Woo or you want to create a special drink to remember the day you got engaged - this is a cute way to personalise the day and you and your partner can have some fun creating the recipe.

We've got some signature cocktail ideas below:

• Engaged in Paris? Try a From Paris with Love:
  • 35ml gin15ml raspberry liqueur
  • 5-6 fresh raspberries
  • 50ml pineapple juice
  • Shake and strain into a martini glass and garnish with a Haribo love heart pricked with a cocktail stick
• Christmas Engagement? Celebrate with a Peppermint Julep:
  • 1 cup of crushed ice
  • 30ml peppermint simple syrup
  • 60ml cranberry juice
  • 30ml ginger ale
  • A sprig of fresh mint
  • Add the peppermint syrup to the bottom of a glass, add the crushed ice and pour over the cranberry juice and ginger ale. Finish with a sprig of mint and a candy cane for decoration

4. Speeches

Although not a necessity if you want to say a few words at your engagement party now is the time to draft what you want to say. Whether you want to declare your undying love for your partner or just thank everyone for coming a speech can add a personal touch to the celebrations and give you another excuse to raise a glass.

Usually, the speeches take place just before the food is served so you can also let guests know where to find the buffet at the end of your speech. If you're feeling brave you could open the floor for anyone to add their own speech but be ready for embarrassing family stories and maybe a few happy tears.

5. Decorate The Room

It's finally the big day! Whether you're starting with an empty function room or decorating your own home, add some fun and personality to your celebrations with the perfect engagement decorations.

Banners are the perfect way to welcome your guests and declare your love for each other. Our personalised engagement banner can feature your initials making it super personal (as well as letting guests know they're in the right place). The rose gold lettering sets the romantic theme and looks perfect styled with one of our balloon arches.

Want everyone to know you finally got that ring? Add some fun to your room with some giant hanging engagement rings. Easy to put together and hang we love these honeycomb engagement rings that scream - they finally put a ring on it!

Let everyone know that love is in the air with some engagement balloons. Whether you want to create standout centrepieces with foil balloons or a selfie area with a balloon arch, balloons are the perfect choice to take your party to the next level.

For some added bling, the giant engagement ring balloon lets everyone know that this is going to be an epic engagement party. Keeping to a rose gold theme this balloon will shimmer as the lights go down (just not as brightly as your new ring). It's also super easy to set up your own balloon arch. Not sure how to create a balloon arch? We've got it covered with our balloon arch kits which have everything you need to create the arch of dreams.

6. Enjoy The Night

The build-up to a wedding is a really special time so make sure you enjoy every step! If you need more engagement party inspo discover our full engagement party collection.

Not sure where to start for your hen do or even your wedding? We've got you! Discover our favourite hen party ideas and accessories to throw THE hen party of the year and shop our wedding decorations including signs, foliage, favours and more to create your dream wedding.