He asked, you said yes and now it’s time to get down to business! If you’re honest, you have probably already been trawling through Pinterest dreaming of your perfect engagement party, creating boards of all your favourite themes. From the rustic to the whimsical and everything in between, and whilst you may not want to admit it, you are secretly hoping your guests will be “happy snapping” and “hash-tagging” away.
So how do you achieve such high acclaim?
It’s all about the lights, camera and action!
Lighting
The lighting will depend greatly on the location and time of day you choose to host your party. Outdoor parties held at sunset are always a winner! Beaches, vineyards, bushland and open fields will all be complemented by the pink hue of dusk. With little effort on your part, Mother Nature will put on a dazzling display that will provide a beautiful backdrop to create ample stunning photo’s that everyone will be eager to share, no props required!
Of course, as the sun drops from the sky and darkness descends you will need an alternative striking luminance to keep those social media junkies papping away!
Edison bulb hanging lights, string LEDs placed in mason jars and even the simplicity of fairy lights, all provide an elegant glisten, especially when adorning bare trees, illuminating rustic wine barrels or hanging above imposing timber tables.
The most romantic and flattering lighting of all though has to be the dancing flame of a candle. The more you can scatter around the place the better (safety first of course!) candles can look spectacular in photographs and with an abundance of this natural light, your guests will be able to ditch the filters!
Camera
No party would be complete without an instant camera for your guests to snap a selfie to leave in your guest book. Pallet boards with romantic inscriptions, custom designed neon signs emblazoned with “she said yes!” personalised frames, floral arches and fun props all encourage your guests to take part in the camera fun.
The more opulent and extravagant the booth, the more likely the party pics are to be shared.
Action
There are good parties and there are great parties, some may determine the success of a party by the number of people that attend, the quantity of free booze that is on offer or how luxurious the setting was, but a huge and defining factor has two be how much fun your guests had.
An engagement party is often a celebration where differing families can be thrown together. Often the brides and grooms families will make polite acquaintance, but then spend the evening separated into their own groups, like the Capulets and the Montague’s. A great way to close the divide is to incorporate some party games. Depending on your family, you may wish to avoid anything too embarrassing where individuals need to make a spectacle of themselves. Games like “Find the Rings”, “Match the Celebrity Couple”, and “How Well Do You Know the Bride and Groom” are all great icebreakers and light-hearted games that can get everyone involved.
Create a moment of awe
Whether it’s a surprise firework display, a well-choreographed dance-off, sky lanterns, a video montage of your relationship so far, releasing doves, impressive cocktail Waiters, professional dancers or if appropriate, a traditional component, something related to your heritage, like the Haka if you are from New Zealand, or the bagpipes if you are of Scottish descent.
Just something that makes your guests say wow.
However you decide to celebrate this amazing milestone moment, just make sure that you enjoy it and don’t get intoxicated by all the small details and forget what the day is about
Remember, this is just the warm-up for your wedding day, so you don’t want to blow your budget and guest expectations, to leave your actual big day an anti-climax!
Happy Planning!
