Engagement Party Venues in London

If you’ve recently gotten engaged, you’ll know just what a great feeling it is! Filled with giddy excitement over your future nuptials, you’re likely to want to celebrate with your friends and family as soon as possible. So what comes next?

Of course, it's an engagement party!

The best way to get everyone together before the actual wedding, an engagement party can be a chilled out, relaxed affair before the big night. And to save you from any stress when it comes to planning, we’ve got these tips to share with you on how to organise the engagement party of the year.

Decide Who’s Hosting

First, tradition dictates that the bride’s family host the engagement party, but this isn’t the case anymore.

Nowadays, anyone can host engagement parties, and most commonly, they are hosted by the bride and groom themselves. As a newly engaged couple, you’re going to be the ones who know exactly what you want your engagement party to look like, so it’s best if you make all of the decisions.

Of course, if someone else offers to do all of the planning and host the event, then all you have to do is turn up and enjoy yourself!

Decide When to Have It

Most couples want to have the party as soon as they get engaged, but that isn’t always right for everyone. Depending on how long your engagement is going to be, it might be best to hold off for a little while - plus, it gives you time to look at suitable venues.

Many couples decide to travel or move to a new city during the early stages of their engagement: if this is the case, you’ll probably want to wait until things calm down a little first. Deciding on a date is important, as it will enable you to get a venue booked and send out invitations with plenty of time to spare.

Decide on a Theme

Are you looking your party to be formal or informal? Will there be a sit-down meal or is it just a party? Do you want it to have a specific theme? Deciding on all of his is crucial. It means that you can then let your guests know about the dress code. It will also make it much easier to pick a venue when you know how you want your party to look, what you want to happen at it, and of course, how many people will be there.

Decide Where to Have It

Venue for any party is a key decision. You can have a formal engagement dinner that’s fully catered in west London, or you can hire out a main bar or an entire venue in Fulham or Canary Wharf - the options really are endless!

Whatever you decide, it’s a good idea to think about how far people will have to travel to get there and get home again. Taxis can be expensive and if it’s a party, many people won’t want to drive. For those that are getting behind the wheel, having adequate car parking facilities nearby will make the whole event run much smoother.

Decide Who’s Invited

Getting the guest list sorted needs to happen quite early, so you have an idea of numbers when it comes to the venue. Don’t invite a bunch of people who you know aren’t going to get an invite to the wedding, as they’ll end up being disappointed. If you’re unsure, have a quieter engagement party with only close friends and family in attendance.

Make sure that you give everyone as much advance notice as you can, as people’s calendars fill up quickly! While a formal invite isn’t needed, an email or message should be sent with all of the details they need. This will stop you from being bombarded with questions.

Decide on Gifts

The gift policy at engagement parties is a strange one: no one is ever really sure if gifts are expected or what to buy for the happy couple. As such, letting guests know on the invite is a way to solve this. You can have a strict ‘no gift policy’ or you can direct them to either a small wish-list or registry that you’ve created.

Gifts aren’t mandatory at an engagement and they are more meant to be a token than a large present – that usually comes at the wedding itself. An alternative is to ask people to donate to a charity of your choice in lieu of gifts, which gets rid on any awkwardness around the topic.

Decide on Entertainment

What, exactly, is going to happen at your engagement party? While you might have a venue at the ready and invited everyone you want to be there, you need to consider how you’re going to entertain them. While music and dancing are always a good way to go, it’s also the chance to play some games with your guests. You can discuss how you both met, how the proposal happened, and a few other funny anecdotes to the crowd. This will get everyone relaxed and ready for some party games! As there are likely to be a few people there who don’t each other, or even many people at all, now is the time to get everyone talking.

An engagement party is a great way to celebrate the fact that you’ve decided to spend the rest of your lives together. It’s a chance for all of your nearest and dearest to congratulate you both in person and party alongside you. It’s also a great way for the two families to meet again, and you can introduce all of your friends to each other. Plus, it’s the perfect way to get everyone excited about the future wedding that’s on the horizon!

Choose the Food

And finally, we come to one of the most important factors of an engagement party: the food and drinks! You might consider hiring a cocktail bar or a rooftop terrace, or choose a venue which offers a private dining room and call in a caterer. Regardless, there are so many great ideas to start thinking about - and by the end, you're sure to be hungry!