Wedding Transportation

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Do not underestimate this task! Arranging wedding transportation for your guests can prove to be a logistical nightmare. Fortunately, we’ve been there and done it and know the pitfalls. This hack will save you (literally) hours of needless correspondence and prevent any transportation disasters from occurring on your wedding day. Trust me, your guests not being able to get to your wedding is one of the most stressful things that can happen on the day. Here is how to avoid it and make sure everything goes smoothly.

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1. Download our Wedding Planning spreadsheet – complete the guest list

Download our wedding planning spreadsheet(if you haven’t already) and go to the tab titled “Guest list 2”. Ideally, you should have completed this already. If you haven’t sent your invitations yet, do this as soon as you can and put a box for them to tick if they require transport. Alternatively, you can ask your email list/facebook conversation with all your guests. When you have all the responses, add the info into the column titled “Need transport?” and add contact numbers for all guests who require transport.

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2. Count total number of guests

This step is pretty easy. Count the number of people in the ” Need transport?” column who have confirmed they need transport.

Tip: Pass this spreadsheet onto a bridesmaid or best man. If there are any problems with the transport company on the day of the wedding, this will allow them to easily contact all the affected guests.

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3. Download our Guest Transport spreadsheet

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4. When do you need to arrange transport for?

There are 3 main times on your wedding day when you may need to arrange guest transport:

1. To collect guests from a central location and take them to your ceremony venue. This is mainly if your ceremony venue is in a difficult to reach place.
2. Between the ceremony venue and reception venue. If your ceremony venue and reception venue are more than 5 mins walk away from one another you will probably need to arrange transport between them.
3. To return guests to a central location(or near their house) at the end of the night. Again, this is mainly only needed if your reception venue is in an area with no transport options. A coach company may be willing to take a route with a few drop-off points to deliver your guests near their homes.

Once you have determined the transport options you need to provide, it’s time to email your guests.

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5. Create email list – contact all

Create a new email list(or Facebook messenger conversation) with only the guests who require transport. Contact them all and ask whether they require transport:

a) to take them to the ceremony venue?

b) between the ceremony venue and the reception venue?

c) to return them to a fixed location at the end of the night?(this would be if your reception venue is in an area with no transport options)

d) a selection of the above

As you receive responses, add them to the Guest Transport spreadsheet.

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6. Ask your venue if they cater to coaches?

Some venues may have small entrances which can only cater to small vehicles or may not allow larger vehicles on their grounds. Check with your venue if they have any restrictions.

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7. Contact transport companies

Do a Google search for some local transport companies and send them all the following email:

“Good afternoon,

I am emailing to enquire whether you could provide a [number of guests] seat coach on the date of [your wedding date] to provide transportation for my wedding guests.

The trips I would require would be:

[number of guests] going from [location A] to [location B] at [time]

repeat further trips if needed

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks”

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8. Receive replies and work out best price

As you receive replies, add the details to the Guest Transport spreadsheet and work out the best price.

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9. Make the booking

Book the transport company and make sure to get an email confirming all the details.

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10. Email list to advise of pick up times/locations

Finally, send an email to your email list confirming all the details(pick up times/locations) and transport company name so they know what to look out for. You may even want to send them your guest transport spreadsheet so they have all the details and they know who else is travelling with them.

Follow these 10 steps and you will successfully book your guest transport with as little effort as possible and will have secured yourself in the eventuality of something going wrong with the transport company on the wedding day.

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Wedding Equipment Hire

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There are many different people and services that you need to hire when planning a wedding. “Wedding equipment hire” is probably the least glamorous and least spoken about. But it doesn’t need to be. Wedding equipment is one of the few areas that will really make a big difference to your theme and the “feel” you are trying to create. Unfortunately, the lack of publicity for wedding equipment hire leaves many people bewildered as to what it actually means. Is it just light and sound?? In this hack, we outline all the equipment that you (probably) need at your wedding.

Before you begin, check what equipment your venue already provide. You can use the list below to check with them.

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Tables

• Dining tables
• Bar/serving tables
  
• Cake table
  

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Chairs

• Ceremony chairs
  
• Dinner chairs
  
• Lounge chairs
  
• Chair covers
  

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On the Tables

• Cutlery
  
• Place settings
  
• Serving pieces
  

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Glasses

• Water glasses
  
• Champagne flutes
  
• Red wine glasses
  
• White wine glasses
  
• Bar glasses
  

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Linen

• Table linens
  
• Napkins
  

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Lighting

• Lighting canopy
  
• Uplighters
  

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Sound systems

• PA system and microphones for ceremony
  
• PA system and microphones for speeches
  
• Sound system for band or DJ
  

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That takes care of all the big stuff, let’s take a look at the small stuff.

Wedding Accommodation for Guests

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Now that you have booked your own wedding night accommodation, it’s time to help your guests to do the same.

Let’s face it! You’ve got enough on your plate without having to research accommodation for all your guests.

It’s not your responsibility to actually book the accommodation, but it is extremely helpful if you can at least look into the various accommodation options near your venue and send them some details. This hack will help you do this in the most efficient time-saving way possible.

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Ask venue

Firstly, does your venue have any accommodation available? If you are getting married in a hotel for example, then it is highly likely that it will. A castle on the other hand may not, or may require that you book the entire place!

Your venue should also have a list of accommodation available nearby which they can send over to you.

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My venue has no information on accommodation

Unlucky for you, the hard work is now in your hands. You will need to do some searching to find all available accommodation near your venue and create a spreadsheet to store all the information. Lucky for you, we have created a template especially for this.

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Create email list

If you haven’t already, create an email list with all your guests(do this as early as you can as this email list is going to be useful throughout the entire planning process). Send an email to the entire list with the “accommodation information” spreadsheet attached.

If your venue offers accommodation, let your guests know which rooms are still available and that these will be booked out on a first-come-first-serve basis.

If your venue requires that you book the entire place, they may give you a bulk-price for all the rooms. In this case, you will need to work out the estimated pricing for each room and then email this information over to your guests and see who is interested. If there are only a small number of rooms, you may wish to offer them to your immediate family first.

If gathering emails is proving difficult, creating a Facebook messenger group with all your guests can sometimes be an easier option. The beauty of a messenger conversation is that your guests can liaise with one another to arrange joint accommodation and transport etc. Just beware that if you have a lot of guests in the conversation, they may begin to get irritated with 30+ notifications every day and will begin removing themselves from the conversation.

Our wedding planning spreadsheet has a sheet especially for adding accommodation info which you may find useful.

If you found this hack useful, you may also enjoy our hack on arranging guest transport.

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Choosing Wedding Night Accommodation

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Your wedding night is the first evening that you are going to be able to “fully” relax in months. No more planning to do. Just time to take in the events that have just occurred and soak up the magnificence that was your wedding day. You want to make sure that you enjoy it and that you’re not in some crummy hotel with terrible customer service. You don’t want anything to put a dampener on your night.

In saying that, your wedding accommodation is going to be one of the shortest hotel stays in your life. Assuming that your wedding finishes at midnight, you will be arriving at your accommodation pretty late, then checking out at lunchtime the next day(unless you have booked more than 1 night) so you may not get that much time to enjoy the hotel room and amenities. Nonetheless, it is worth spending a little more to get a hotel that is slightly more special than you would normally book. This is the last part of your wedding day and a perfect way to put a cherry on the cake.

Here are our key pieces of advice that will help make sure you book your wedding night accommodation properly:

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Venue or hotel?

Does your venue have a honeymoon suite? If so, then your wedding night accommodation is sorted. If not, then you will need to find accommodation near the venue. This means arranging additional transport to get you from venue to hotel.

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Book early

If you need to book a hotel, do it as early as you can so you can get the best room before it gets snapped up. Make sure to get email confirmation of the booking(you don’t want any nasty surprises on your wedding night).

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Tell them you will be arriving late – any snacks available at this time?

Advise the hotel that you are getting married during the day and that this is your wedding night accommodation which means you will be arriving late. Give them an idea of the time you will be arriving and make sure this is ok. Ask if they can provide any snacks at this time as you may be hungry?

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What is the check-out time?

Ask what time you need to check out the next day and if you can use amenities after this time.

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Getting your luggage there

Somehow you need to get your luggage(either for your honeymoon or just for the night) to the hotel and you won’t be wanting to take it with you on the wedding night! You could take your car the day before and ask the hotel if you could leave it there overnight or alternatively you could ask the hotel if you could leave the luggage with them if they have somewhere to store it? Quick tip – Pack a notebook in your luggage to take some notes of the pleasant things which happened on your wedding day – It will still be fresh in your mind the day after but if you don’t write it down, I guarantee you will forget things in the coming weeks and months.

If you manage to get the above done, you will have successfully booked your wedding night accommodation with no problems. Hack complete.

Now to sort your guest accommodation

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Choosing Wedding Rings

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Choosing wedding rings is both one of the easiest and most difficult tasks you will encounter in your wedding planning.

It’s easy because it bears very little relevance to your actual wedding day…..guests probably won’t see it up close, so as long as you have a ring, your guests won’t care what it looks like.

It’s difficult however because it is one of the few wedding planning decisions that you will live with for the rest of your life! That ring is going to be on your finger everyday which makes it a very personal decision. As a physical symbol of your love and marriage, it is unlikely that you will ever buy a piece of jewellery with such significance. No pressure!

We have established that this is a personal decision which makes it very difficult to provide any solid advice on how to choose your rings. So we will just give you 4 simple steps, not to tell you what kind of ring to choose……but to make sure you are happy with your choice. Let’s do it!

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1. Matching or not matching?

Do you and your fiancé want to have matching rings? If you are going for plain bands, you may want to go for the same shape so that they match. This is down to your shared preference.

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2. Colour

The main 2 options here are yellow metal or silver metal. Try both to see which one suits your skin tone best.

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3. Metal

There are many different metal options. Some are heavier and stronger than others. Metals such as platinum(one of the pricier options) are heavy and very hard-wearing which makes it a desirable choice. Cheap alternatives such as Palladium are growing in popularity due their lower price tag but sacrifice weight and strength.

It’s worth noting that if you plan to wear another ring(like your engagement ring) beside your wedding ring every day, they should ideally be the same metal. If they aren’t the same metal, the softer metal will slowly be worn down by the harder ring.

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4. Size

Consider the size of your ring. Firstly, make sure you can get it on your finger. Are your hands hot or cold while putting the ring on? If you’re hands are cold, your fingers are slightly slimmer which will make it easier to put on, but once they heat up, your finger will expand and make the ring a tighter fit.

Keep this in mind: On your wedding day, your hands will probably be slightly sweaty due to nerves(making your fingers wider) and thus harder to get the ring on.

The most important thing of all is that you love the ring you pick. You NEED to LOVE it. Don’t settle for “like” with this decision as you need to live with this choice long past your wedding day.

If you are looking for a more unique wedding ring, take a look at some of the rings available on Etsy.

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Wedding Hairstylist

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One of the more personal vendor bookings you are likely to make. Your wedding hairstylist is one of the first people you will see on your wedding day, they will be up-close-and-personal and they are ultimately in charge of making your hair look good. That’s a big responsibility. This hair-do will last forever in photographs so they need to get it right.

We have set out the steps to take to make sure you choose the right person and the questions to ask to ensure you get exactly what you want.

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Finding the right style

We’ve said it many times, but there is just no beating our Pinterest wedding planning technique. If you’re not on Pinterest, I suggest you make an account for your wedding as it can really help an immeasurable amount. Set it up now, thank me later. Once you’re in, you know what to do.

1. Search “[your hair length e.g. short/long][your theme] hairstyles”
2. Pin like crazy
3. Refine
4. You should now have your style

While you’re at it, might as well follow us at the same time(we’re nice, we’ll follow back)

Once you have your style, this should help you filter out hairstylists in the next step.

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Finding a good stylist

Time to move onto Google. I don’t need to teach you how to use Google so do some searches for wedding hairstylists in your local area and start browsing the various sites(another good option is looking through wedding directories).

Filter out the “suitable” from the “unsuitable” by the following criteria:

• Check their gallery. Do you like the hairstyles of their previous clients?
• Is the price suitable for your budget?

After doing this for 20-30 mins, you should have a decent list to choose from. Time to email!

Send the following email

“Hi there,

I am contacting you to enquire whether you have any availability on the date of [your wedding date] to provide hair styling for my wedding day?

If you are available, I would love to discuss it further.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards”

And wait………………..

…….keeeeep waiting……..

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Questions to ask

Leave it a couple of days. Once you have a few replies, you can follow up with some questions. Here are a few we suggest:

• What would the cost be for [outline the service you require]?
• Do you offer a trial-run before the wedding? If so, should I bring my veil and accessories?
• Have you worked with my hair-type before?*There are many hair-types in the world. Make sure the stylist has worked on yours before.
• Do you work on location?*only ask this if you don’t want to go the salon on the day of your wedding.
• If you are ill on the day of my wedding, do you have a backup option?

It’s worth noting that some hairstylists also do makeup. It’s up to you if you want 1 person to do both(this can cut costs but can be more time consuming). It’s a good idea to ask your hairstylist if they know a good wedding make-up artist who they have worked with before.

Once you have decided on your Hairstylist, it’s time to get creative with them. Remember that Pinterest board we made???? Send them the link to give them a solid idea of what you are looking for. You could spend a long time trying to describe it over the phone or in an email. A picture is much easier to grasp for any stylist.

You’ve done it! The hard part is over, next you just need to look forward to your hair and makeup trial

If you need more guidance, the Knot have put together a great little guide on how to work with your Hairstylist which is definitely worth a quick read.

Next, you will be choosing your wedding makeup artist

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Wedding Dress Shoes

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Ah the shoes! The delight and disgruntlement of many brides. With thousands of pairs to choose from, it seems almost impossible to find the perfect shoe that:

• Matches your dress
• Compliments your height
• Is comfortable for an entire day
• Allows a slow dance

Here is our guide to finding the perfect shoes to match your dress, your theme and your personality

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1. Comfort is key

First things first. Before you go wild looking at sky-high heels, remember that you will be wearing them for a looooong time on your wedding day. You don’t want to spend your day thinking about your feet as they start to get sore so make sure you pick something that is comfortable enough to wear all day long. Think about it, you pretty much don’t get to sit down until you are having your meal. Comfy is key.

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2. Can you walk in them?

High heels coupled with a long dress are not an easy catwalk combination. During your dress fitting, take your (potential) shoes and make sure you can walk easily while you have your dress on.

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3. The shoes that give you the “feeling”

As important as comfort and strut logistics are…….the shoes must must MUST give you the “feeling”. You know what I’m talking about….it’s that feeling of elegance, grace and sheer #BrideBoss confidence.

If they don’t give you the “feeling”, just put them in the bin…..go, bin them now. No, don’t even try to sell them or keep them for another occasion. Bin them and keep looking. You deserve the “feeling”.

If you are struggling for inspiration, check out BHLDN who offer some unique styles.

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4. Match the theme

Hopefully your dress compliments the theme. Matching your shoes to the dress should therefore, by default, also make them match the theme. You will still need to consider their appropriateness to the events in your wedding day however. Will you be spending a lot of time on grass? Heels could pose a problem here. Think style and surface.

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5. What came first? The dress or the shoes?

You need to choose a dress before you can choose the shoes but you need to wear the shoes to the dress fitting in order to get the length of the dress measured(unless you’re wearing flats). So how do you manage this? Use your first visit to dress shops to find a dress you love. Once your settled on the dress, go hard on the shoe hunt. When you find a pair you are happy with, purchase them as soon as you can to make sure you have them for the first dress fitting.

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6. Match your whites

White is not white. If both your dress and shoes are white, you will need to try to match the shade as closely as you can. There are many shades of white. They make look dazzlingly white on the shelf, but if your dress is a brilliant white, a slightly off-white pair of shoes will suddenly look dull by comparison.

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7. Dancing shoes?

Are these the shoes you’re going to be dancing in? This is worth considering early as a high pair of shoes will suddenly render you un-danceable for anything more than a static-sway on your wedding night. Many brides choose to swap into a pair of flats for dancing which is a good idea if you’re planning on owning the dance floor. Just remember, that’s another pair of shoes you’ve got to find(don’t worry, flats are normally easier).

Finding the perfect match is no easy task but these tips should help you filter out the unsuitable from the show-stoppers. Remember to save yourself some blisters on your wedding day by starting to wear the shoes in a few weeks before the wedding.

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Wedding Planning Meltdown

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I get it. Some people love every part of planning their wedding. But for others, it can be extremely stressful. The pressures of liaising with suppliers, co-ordinating guest accommodation and keeping everybody happy (not mentioning the looming task of paying for everything) can quickly become an overwhelming burden. So what can be done to combat pre-wedding meltdown? Here are our best tips:

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1. Start planning early

Ideally, start planning as early as you can to reduce the risk of running out of time and having a mountain of tasks to complete in the last week before the wedding. If you are reading this however, there is a good chance that you have already left your planning to the last minute and you’re now thinking that you may not get everything done in time. If that is you, read on.

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2. Stay calm

Ok, it’s easier said than done, I know. But try your best to keep your focus on the importance of the upcoming event(your wedding). Not the importance for your guests, but for you! This is one of the most special days of your life. Treat the planning in the same way. It’s very easy to start thinking of it like any other event planning, but it’s not. Even if everything doesn’t go “exactly” as you planned, it will still be one of the best days of your life. Don’t worry too much about the details if it’s stressing you out.

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3. Write a to-do list

Often overlooked, the humble to-do list is a powerhouse stress-buster. Why? Because it gets all that “stuff” out of your head and onto paper. Once you write out your to-do list, you will see 2 immediate benefits. The first is that you can actually see what still needs to be done(rather than trying to mentally visualise it). The second benefit is that now that it’s down on paper, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to keep it in your mind. There is some sort of mental release(genuinely) which makes you feel more relaxed. You can use that extra brain power to do something else(or just relax). Oh and now that you’ve written it down, there is less chance of forgetting anything(just don’t lose that paper!)

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4. Get excited

This is similar to my second point. Try your best to get excited about your wedding day(if you’re not already). It’s easy to become so stressed that all your wedding excitement disappears. Your wedding day is an amazing day. Even if you’re not a “weddingy” person, you will love your wedding day. Too many people regret not having enjoyed the wedding planning period(even if they hated it at the time) because once it’s done….it’s done. There is no more wedding planning, no more late nights and no more countless emails. It sounds strange but you may just find that you actually miss it!

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Wedding Catering

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Booking the wedding catering “should” be one of the easier tasks of the wedding. Depending on the venue you have booked, the catering may already be included, in which case you don’t need to worry about it at all. In any case, follow these guidelines and you should be able to hack this task off your to-do list in no time.

Before we dive into the checklist, let’s just go over a few venue-caterer relationship guidelines:

• Your venue may already have an in-house caterer(this may restrict your culinary choices but eases the stress of having to book one yourself). Check if this is included in the price?
• Your venue may have a list of preferred caterers. This gives you something to work with. These caterers have usually worked in the venue before which should help things go smoothly.
• Your venue may have an agreement with a caterer and refuse to use anybody else(not always a bad thing depending on how good the caterer is). In this case the venue will probably organise this for you(make sure to get the caterers’ price list and check for any sneaky add-ons. You don’t want to get caught with a £60 orange juice bill…….I’m speaking from experience!)
• If your venue is not a purpose built wedding venue, their catering facilities may be limited. What equipment do/don’t they have?

Before you waste any time researching caterers(when they may already be included), first contact your venue and check what their catering arrangements are. This will save any unnecessary hassle.

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Ok…..so now we’ve cleared up the venue stuff, let’s get into the checklist.

Researching caterers

• Look up caterers that are available in the area your venue is situated in(a Google search will suffice, otherwise check a wedding directory)
• Ask your venue if they have worked with caterers that they would recommend. A recommendation is always better than booking a caterer blindly.

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Questions to ask the caterer

• Let them know your budget and see if they can work with this. Don’t waste any time asking the following questions if it’s a no-go to start with.
• Ask what type of food they offer? Does it match your wedding theme? e.g. roast chicken with winter vegetables for a barn wedding. We have done a hack which helps you choose your wedding food quickly.
• Are there any customisation options? Can you make changes or are the menus fixed?
• Ask what other venues they have catered for? This gives you an idea of their reputation as well as styles and sizes of wedding they have previously provided services for.
• Ask for a rough cost for the number of guests you are having(emphasis on “rough” as there many factors which can impact the cost). This is handy to add into your wedding planning spreadsheet.
• How do they handle dietary requirements? E.g. vegetarian alternatives, gluten-free alternatives. If you have any guests that have these requirements, you will need to make sure the caterer provides an option for them….. otherwise they may be left chomping on an entire iceberg lettuce.
• Do they offer children’s options? What are they?
• Do they provide “full service”? This is often included in the price. Find out exactly what this covers as it will often include pre-ceremony drinks, canapés, waiting service, bar staff, cleanup etc. How many staff will they provide?
• Will they provide plates, cutlery, water jugs, chairs etc?
• Do they provide a fully-stocked bar or do you need to arrange your own alcohol?
• Will they provide wine during the meal? What is the cost for this?
• Ask about any add-on fees? Basically, anything not included in the basic price for providing the service. Like orange juice!
• Are you able to attend a tasting? You would probably want to sample the menu before the wedding so check if this is something they can offer. Many caterers won’t charge for this(or will offer it at a highly reduced rate).
• Are they licensed to serve alcohol?
• Are they insured?

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Will you require evening food?

Most of your guests should be fairly full by the time the dancing is taking place but you may still want to consider an additional little snack. If you are having a cake, most of your guests will have a piece of this which should keep them going(the caterer should hopefully provide tea and coffee for this). If you have guests who are solely coming in the evening, offering a small snack could be a good idea.

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Once you’ve decided on the caterer

• Check who will be overseeing the event on the day
• What are the arrangements on the day. Do they need somebody to meet them? What time?(It’s good to find out this info so you can add it to your day-of-timeline and arrange somebody to meet them)

Ok, so I said this “should” be one of the easier tasks of the wedding. I bet you’re thinking that it doesn’t look that easy. Why do I need to ask them so many questions??? Don’t worry. You probably won’t need to do this multiple times…..hopefully just once. Most venues try to make this process as simple as possible for you, which is why they create relationships with caterers and build a “preferred caterers” list. It’s unlikely they would strike up a relationship with a company they don’t trust/like so it’s normally a fairly safe bet to book one of these caterers.

If you feel rude asking a caterer so many questions, just say that you “Googled the questions you need to ask and you’re going to read them off the list”. That normally does the trick.

Follow this checklist and you should end up with spectacular food on your wedding day, beautifully presented with no nasty bills in the weeks following……….even if you have a guest who drinks an entire barrel-full of orange juice………not that i’m holding a grudge……I’m over it………seriously.

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How to throw an engagement party

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Are you planning to throw an engagement party? Some couples opt out and just celebrate quietly with their friends and family, while others go big and celebrate in style. If a party is on the cards for you, we’re going to outline the 6 steps on how to throw an engagement party properly. Most of this will be fairly self-explanatory so we’ll keep it fairly snappy. Planning the engagement party could even be used as a little practice for the wedding day itself(unless somebody else is organising the party).

So, let’s get started

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1. Choose who is doing the planning

Decide whether you are going to host the party yourself or if you are going to usher in some help from bridesmaids and your wedding party. If it’s going to be a small party, you could probably do it yourself without adding too much stress(although if you have a particularly keen bridesmaid, feel free to give them the task…..if you think they’re up to it). If it’s going to be a larger party however, try to get some help. Your helpers don’t have to organise the entire party, but they could possibly lend a hand. Try delegating tasks to make things go smoother. E.g. 1 person could confirm attendance, another could book the restaurant and arrange table decoration etc. If you can, try to give people the tasks their good at.

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2. Choose the date

The choice of date is completely up to you. Give yourselves enough time to enjoy being engaged without jumping into planning and parties galore. But also don’t wait too long, it is an  “engagement” party after all.

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3. Choose the theme

If you’ve been looking at wedding themes, you may feel like you have them coming out your ears. But don’t worry, this one is easy. Just go for the same theme you are planning to have at your wedding. If you don’t have a theme yet, go with something that makes you feel comfortable e.g. if you are a laid-back type of couple, maybe have afternoon tea at home. If you are more outgoing, you may prefer a formal meal at a restaurant

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4. Choose the guests

Would you like a large or small party? The choice is yours. The tradition states that if you invite them to your engagement party, you should also invite them to your wedding. But these days, that’s not so important as our network of friends and family are so widely spread it is not always logistically possible.

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5. Arrange invites

The invites don’t need to be as formal as your wedding. It could even just be an email or a phonecall(although it’s good to put it in writing). If you are planning something special, then a paper invitation can be a lovely touch although you may think that is too time consuming and you may not want to blow additional wedding budget on it. A good option is an e-vite. Try to send these out at least 1 month in advance.

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6. Choose the food

If you’re not using a restaurant for the party, you will probably need to provide food yourself or hire a caterer. The food can be fairly simple. Small nibbles or canapés are perfectly fine. It’s probably a good idea to put this on the invitation though, so your guests don’t come with empty stomachs, expecting a slap-up meal. Say something like “join us for champagne and strawberries” rather than “you will be provided with a small bowl of fruit”

And that’s about it. If you want to add your own decoration, you can, but don’t over think it. Your engagement party is primarily an opportunity to celebrate and relax with loved ones before you dive head-first into wedding planning(you may not get many chances to relax after this). So make the most of it and just enjoy yourself.

You may also like our hack for engagement photoshoot ideas

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