Winter 2010 BEYOND THE BOUQUET www.havredailynews.com A5 Throwing an engagement party When planning your wedding, it's best to start early and be disciplined in keeping up with the tasks. Continued from page A4 Celebrating your engagement with friends and family By Nina Callaway, About.com Guide Engagement parties can be a fun way to announce and celebrate your engagement, but not everyone has one. Should you have one? And what kind of party should it be? Planning your engagement party: Who should host your engagement party? Traditionally, the parents of the bride host, but today there casual backyard barbecue, or anything in between. A cocktail party with hors d'oeuvres is always a safe bet. Who should be invited to your already be asking them to travel for the wedding. (The exception to this rule would be the parents of the bride or groom.) When should you hold your engagement party? For those with especially long engagements, engagement parties are held one to three months after the engagement, and/or about a year before the wedding. For others it can be held any time more than six months before the wedding. Should you expect gifts and register for them? You shouldn't expect gifts as etiquette does not dictate that guests should bring them. However, the announcement of an engagement inevitably gets some guests thinking about gifts, and this is a time that they might start asking your family where you are registered. Some of your guests will b r i n g g i f t s t o t h e p a r t y. Therefore it's a good idea to have registered for a few things before sending the invitations. However, as not everyone will bring a gift, don't make the gifts a central part of the open them after the guests have left. Don't forget to send thank you notes! Two Week in Advance get the map that came with dinner invite). involved. rehearsal). Should you have an engagement party? Pros: you to announce your engagement to your nearest and dearest friends and family in a fun way. your families and friends to get to know each other party with people you love, right? Cons: party forces you to have a sense of your wedding guest list early, as you shouldn't invite anyone who won't be invited to the wedding. for and pay for, or to have someone else plan and pay for. ularly long engagement (6 months or less) it may seem awkward to have another party so close to your wedding. to wake up, time to leave for church, etc.). publishing day or weekend of wedding. One Week in Advance aren't hard and fast rules. The bride and groom can host it themselves, or a friend or o t h e r fa m i l y m e m b e r c a n undertake the hosting duties. What kind of event should it be? This depends on your budget and personal style. It can be a formal affair with printed invitations and reply cards, a to foreign currency now if desired. of ceremony, otherwise pay this week). a last minute duty (need fresh flowers). caterer. tuxedos on day before wedding. rehearsal dinner have been made. engagement party? You'll definitely want to invite your two families so they can get to know one another. It's very bad etiquette to invite anyone other than those who will definitely be invited to the wedding, so it's probably best to limit the guest list to those very close to you. Typically, guests who would have to travel are not invited, as you will 50 Years of Happiness ~ Ervin and Sharon Watson Sharon LaMere and Ervin Watson met in High school in Box Elder in 1959. They dated for seven months before getting married Feb. 5, 1960, in Rocky Boy at the ciating. Their wedding reception and dance were held at the home of the late Donald and Sophie Meyers in Rocky Boy. Sharon is the daughter of the late David LaMere of Great Falls and the late Eunice Mitchell Sanchez of Rocky Boy. Ervin is the son of the late George and Minnie Watson of Rocky Boy. Ervin became a cattleman in 1962 and has been in the cattle business since then. Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Watson have lived in Rocky Boy ever since they married. Ervin finished high school in May 1960. One year later they had a daughter, Lisa and in 1962 their oldest son, Kenny, was born. In 1963 their son, Eric C., was born, their youngest daughter, Renita, was born in 1965, and their youngest child, Darrell Sr., was born in 1969. Each of their five children is married and, combined, have given Mr. and Mrs. Watson 18 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. This year, their children and older grandchildren sponsored a community Round Dance and dinner in Rocky Boy on Feb. 6 in honor of and to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Guests in attendance included family and friends from all over Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Watson were presented with some special gifts on this night along with many well wishes and blessings from everybody in attendance. Day Before Wedding toasting glasses, CD's, and birdseed to reception hall. then now bride (or prepare bride's purse). Morning of Wedding bride's wedding band to Best Man prior to ceremony. Fropm www.weddingdetails. com invitees before you order the invitations. Mr. and Mrs. Smith Sue, Bret and Mike invitations and envelopes than you think you will need (to cover mistakes in addressing, re-mailing to a current address, to cover last-minute "must haves"). It's much more expensive to re-order than to order more than you need at the beginning. inviting single people to bring a guest, this appears on the inside envelope: Mr. Jurgen and Guest. age for the outer envelopes, take a fully stuffed envelope (invitation, inner envelope, response card/envelope, reception card, map, etc.) to the post office. Correct postage is determined by weight and size. If sending different enclosures to differing groups of people, take an example of each. Remember, postage to foreign countries is higher. And, if you are sending invitations to other countries, do not pre-stamp the postage can only be used for mail originating in the the armed services. we d d i n g g i f t s w i t h t h e names of the bride and groom, you can write, seal and stamp the thank you note as the gift is received, but do not send out before the actual marriage ceremony is performed. (Writing the "thank you's" as gifts are received is much easier than doing them all at once. Just mail them after the wedding or on your return from your honeymoon.) Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson Amber Gilge (right) of Destination Travel tells bride-to-be Sara Swietnicki (left) and her mother, Suzanne Swietnicki, about honeymoon destinations during the 2010 Bridal Fair at the Holiday Village Mall Feb. 13. loose-leaf notebook, or computer program with: Thank You Wedding Gift/ Thank You (What?) Sent? yo u r we d d i n g a d d r e s s labels at the same time. You may even consider o r d e r i n g yo u r a d d r e s s labels for your thank you cards too! names with the appropriate titles: Mr., Mrs., Dr., Ms., Reverend, Captain, L i eutenan t, Ra b b i , Fr., Messrs., Honorable, etc. "thank you" notes for your Army guide for titles and order your reception place cards and wedding place card holders for all of your g u e s t s w h o re t u r n t h e response card. and Etiquette for Official Entertainment Smith; if divorced: Mrs. Susan Smith. and living at home, they receive their own invitation or are listed separately on their parent's: Mr. and Mrs. John Smith Ms. Melissa Smith sharing a home or living together, or a married couple with different names, use both full names: Dr. Susan Davis Mr. James Rosser under 18, their individual names (and/or Family) are listed below their parents' names on the inside envelope: