Engagement Party Make Your Own

Question: What do you think of wishing wells in a home engagement party?

(Posted by: m_a_c_y_7 on 2010-06-07 15:26:07)

Hi, my fiancee and i are planning to buy a house and hold our engagement party there. i was thinking to make it a formal party complete with a wishing well.. are wishing wells only for hall/ restaurant events? thanks!

Posted by: Avis B on 2010-06-07, 15:54:10

An engagement party has a specific purpose, and that is to formally announce the engagement of Mary Smith to John White. The engagement party is traditionally hosted (planned, organized, and paid for) by the Bride's parents. If the Bride's parents are unable to host the party then the Groom's parents or a close friend or family member can host the party. The engaged couple should NOT host their own party unless there are no other alternatives. The engagement party should take place within four to six weeks of the proposal. For example: if you got engaged on New Year's Eve then your party should take place by Valentine's Day (February 14). An engagement party is NOT a giving giving event. The engagement party is not the beginning of the gift giving season for this couple. The couple should not be registered with any type of wedding registry until after the engagement party has taken place. Yes, you will receive a few gifts but they will be small and inexpensive. Having a wishing well at your engagement party whether it takes place in your new home or in a formal hotel banquet room is inappropriate and a form of solicitation. Answered by: A Certified wedding specialist / A Professional bridal consultant / A Wedding ceremony officiant

Posted by: Blunt on 2010-06-07, 15:29:03

Engagement parties are NOT gift giving occasions, leave alone solicitation for cash! Very rude and trashy. A "formal " party does not include panhandling. Awful! Good luck

Posted by: Sassifrass13 on 2010-06-07, 15:30:31

No, do not expect gifts at an engagement party. Do not have a wishing well. It's in very poor taste, sweetie.

Posted by: La Vie Boheme on 2010-06-07, 15:31:03

I agree with Blunt. Asking for gifts is something 5 year olds do and is beyond tacky for an adult.

Posted by: Rasha on 2010-06-07, 15:41:51

That is nice to start the house with big event like this one ..... i think u can still have your wishing wells becasue it is still a party and the coast will be less but still you will offer them: good food cataring table arrangements flowers D.J. .....etc so it is a full party arrangement but in new place

Posted by: Garnet Glitter's No BS Zone on 2010-06-07, 16:05:31

You do not expect or receive gifts for an engagement party...ONLY for a shower, and only for the wedding if the guest wishes to give you a wedding gift. Having a money wishing well as a suggestion that guests should gift you for your engagement at your engagement party is really pushing it, dear....engagement parties are held so that the groom's family & bride's family can meet before the wedding......it is NOT a money making event. To turn it into one is the height of rudeness and crass behavior. If someone wishes to gift you for you engagement, that's fine...but for you to even suggest it with a wishing well, well, Emily Post would turn in her grave over that. Now if you turn it into a house warming party, you may expect some MODEST home oriented gifts, like kitchen towels and spatula sets..our family will set up a wishing well for that BUT we set a limit on how much the gift may cost...no more than 25 dollars.

Posted by: Kelly on 2010-06-07, 22:39:40

Engagement parties are to formally announce your engagement, this is not a gift giving event. Scrap the wishing well for the engagement party, it will look greedy and tacky. The bridal shower/ wedding shower is the only gift giving event for a wedding, and it will still be tacky to have a wishing well or to ask for gifts of money. Though many (most) guests will give a gift at the wedding, there should be no expectation of it. Gifts from your guests are optional.

Posted by: truefirstedition on 2010-06-09, 07:48:42

An engagement party is NOT a gift-giving event. The most that anyone should bring to an engagement party is something small and consumable - chocolates, a bottle of wine, etc. So no. It's not appropriate to have a wishing well at an engagement party, whether it's held at your home or at a restaurant.

Posted by: Liz on 2010-06-11, 04:28:24

Wishing wells and other blatant attempts to make your guests foot your bill are tacky at home, at halls and at restaurants alike. Hold off on buying a house and buy a book on etiquette first. You need one of those more.