Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Engagement Party?

Now that people are starting to find out that we are engaged, there have been a few questions of "So when is the engagement party?" Some a bit teasing, some very serious in their need for a reason to party.

An engagement party could be fun, but I do wonder what to do. Perhaps a house party like we did last year over Easter. We provided the alcohol, everyone else brought food. It was a great time, (other than the red wine stains on the wall which did eventually come out) and I wouldn't mind doing something like that again. Someone suggested something a little more dress-up than just a get-together in the bar, but that starts to sound like planning and coordination of a level I’m not prepared to do. It’s not that I don’t want to do any planning because I’m scared of it. I’ve planned lots of events, from 4 person casual lunches, to 150 people weekend extravaganzas. The reason I don’t want to get too involved in planning anything is because it’s easy to get wrapped up in planning, worrying about are the guests enjoying themselves, is there enough ice, etc etc, and forget to enjoy the party yourself. If it’s something simple that I feel comfortable with, I know I will have a lot more fun.

Before we have an engagement party, we should have some sort of physical token to show to people that we are actually engaged. A ring, a locket, something. So that will be the first step, before any party/engagement announcements are made.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello sis,

Anonymous said...

Oops...Well I'm up to speed on your blog. Things are coming along as they should be. I'm sure you're dying for some comments so here they are...The ring sounds nice. You are the only one who can decide these things so you may not get a whole lot of feedback. My girlfriend Jill has a very nice wedding ring that is non-traditional. It was her now husband's, grandmother's. It is a pear shaped amethyst on a gold band. If you are concerned about snags (as I was) when I recieved my beautiful diamond solitaire from Wayne (my husband) for our engagement. I was hoping if he were to ask me he would get an inset ring, meaning metal is surrounding the perimeter of the stone. I love the one I have, but I thought the same as you. I find the square ones to be attractive. However, I don't seem to have many problems with snags as thought I would have. So if you find a ring you fall in love with that is set similar to a solitaire I think you'll find it's not too snaggy...
The only thing that stood out to me for input during the whole thing for me, was the parental input. You may be receptive, and you may not. Believe me, smaller is better. You both have a unique situation where you can just party your butts off and not have to worry about an actual ceremony prior to this. That is when you celebrate in Canada and Australia. So keeping it small in Germany would definitely be the key to making it as stress free as humanly possible for you. Simple yes. Wayne and I went to a wedding where the reception was a wine and cheese in the afternoon, so it was not so pricy. It was nice, but the - dancing, party, get you groove on, was lost a bit. If you want to have more of a sit down and not worry about decorations so much, try to find a restaraunt you like with the setting you like and do it there. Or just try to find something unique about you and G that you want to share with a small crowd and make it your day.
As far as bouquet ideas you could very easily go to a market and pick out your favorite on the day of or day before and tie a ribbon around it. This is an easy solution to your cost issues. If you feel that there is a particular flower that you want to have, then you may be getting into the pricy side.
With your hair, an idea I thought was nice was, a single flower in your hair fixed somewhere. It looks elegant and it's simple. If you can find a fake one that you think looks nice, then you don't have to worry about picking up a fresh one the day of the wedding. My friend Jen had a single orchid in her hair beside her up-do. It looked really great.
Other things like photographers - you obviously know a lot of well travelled individuals who not unlike G have an interest in photography that would like to take your photos. I don't think you would, but DON'T ask family to do this. Without knowing other details of when and where it's difficult to offer any other ideas or comments.
So there you have it...commentary from Shirley on ideas for the wedding...

Anonymous said...

don't ask a friend to do the photos either. Ask an acquaintance, but not someone you want to have sharing your special moments. The photographer's got to be watching for when to click, not be carried away with emotion. The more objective the better. Disposable cameras for everyone -- one per 8 people or so -- are great. If that's in your budget.
Gen