Should I Register For An Engagement Party?
When two people get engaged, it's only natural that their nearest and dearest will want to buy the happy couple a gift to celebrate the engagement. When this natural urge to celebrate the union of loved ones occurs alongside an engagement party, it can leave said couple with something of a dilemma.
Anyone that is invited to the engagement party is most likely going to be invited to the wedding, which poses a problem when it comes to gifts. You are suddenly faced with a difficult situation; some people may be planning to buy a gift for the engagement party, others for the wedding - and some may be planning to buy a gift for both! If different guests make different choices, that could result in the situation where those that only buy a gift for the wedding are left feeling awkward and like they are bad guests because they arrive at the engagement party empty handed.
The solution is relatively simple, and it does not require much time or effort to put into place. Firstly, register for gifts as you normally would for a wedding. Online registry is probably the simplest method, and most of the big chain and department stores now offer an online facility. With that done, word process a short piece of paper that reads:
'We are registered at [Insert Store Name Here / Registry Number]. This list is applicable for both the engagement party and the wedding. However, gifts for the engagement party are not expected - please feel free to wait for the wedding!'
Then insert this into the invitations. You have now given people the option of purchasing something from the registry, with the added bonus of people not feeling awkward if they do not attend with a gift: other guests will merely assume they are gift giving for the wedding, not the engagement party.