Sunday, February 7, 2010

Announcing your Engagement

A lovely vintage wedding photo c1950s from my ebay store Catherine Simms

From the booklet entitled My Wedding circa 1952, see how times have changed:

"Announcing your Engagement
Your family is given the honor of releasing the news of your engagement to friends and the press. You may make the first announcement to friends at a social gathering-luncheon, tea or dinner-and give the information to the press the following day, or you may announce the engagement through the newspapers alone"

2010 Advice on announcing your engagement: Your engagement is one of the most spectacular pieces of information you share in your entire life. Nothing is as exhilarating as contacting someone you love and letting them know your big news! For myself, my husband and I were engaged overseas, so when it came time to tell family members most of them were in a different time zone. In this rare instance I think it is important to respect the people you call, making sure that it is not inconvenient to them, but also to call if you know they do not care to be inconvenienced. This was especially true of my parents and my husband's parents whom we woke up in the wee hours of the morning just to tell them we were engaged.

In general the protocol is as follows:
1. Contact close friends and family members first, preferably in person or over the phone. Failure to follow this protocol can result in hurt feelings if they hear third person. Also, texting can be an impersonal way to communicate something of this magnitude, but understandably it may be the only option and is therefore better than nothing.

2. Surprise family members & friends at a social gathering, dinner, or event. Again, just make sure that if any close family members or friendsthat they are not in attendance are contacted before third party "extras" tell them via Twitter, Facebook, or any other impersonal means.

3. Make your announcement via your favored social network, a special blog post, a unique Twitter message, a Facebook quote on love, or an email with a photo of you and your fiancee. (Please do not only send/post a photo of your bling bling as people find this rude and oftentimes very showy) It is, however, appropriate to post a photo of your engagement ring only after you have already posted a photo of yourself and your soon to be husband or wife. Make sure to put the emphasis on your relationship, and not the size of your diamond.

4. Post an engagement announcement in your local paper. Please note that unlike the 1950s suggestion, most newspapers post these monthly or at most biweekly. So, it is not always the most efficient way of communicating your engagement. Also, unfortunately many people do not read local papers. Make sure that you contact them within 40 days of your actual wedding to acquire an announcement. Be prepared to pay a fee for both an engagement announcement and a wedding announcement. And, if you think that it may not be worth it for you, take my advice, you will have wished you did. (I did not even think of it, I assumed our family would do this, and now wish I would have remembered this fun detail, even if it would have only been treasured in the pages of my scrapbook.)

5. Finally, when you have a date in mind and have officially booked a location send out postcards, notes, magnets, or anything your heart can think up to announce the date of your wedding to those you will invite. Please make sure to send out "SAVE THE DATES" only to those you will be inviting. I know that may seem fairly obvious, but I know many brides who have made this fatal mistake. (They thought they could invite so and so, but then paired down their number of guests. "Ouch" to the person who still has the magnet on their fridge but who was not invited to the event!)

*Good Luck and I hope this helps!*

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