Engagement parties are wonderful occasions that celebrate the soon-to-be-wed couple with close friends and family. In this blog, we will share seven tips for hosting a flawless engagement party at a Vaughan banquet.
1. Choose your Vaughan banquet hall wisely
With so many Vaughan banquet halls available, you want to ensure that you choose your venue carefully. Some important things to consider include the following:
- Location: You want a central Vaughan location that makes it easy to get to, as well as possible nearby accommodations for anyone attending from out of town.
- Amenities: The more amenities the Vaughan banquet hall offers, the less you have to worry about. Details such as complimentary Wi-Fi, access to state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment, convenient parking, accessibility, and a private entrance all contribute to a more pleasing experience.
- Catering: This is a must if you want to reduce your planning tasks and ensure the food is of the highest quality and served hot to your guests. A customized menu allows you to align the food service with the type of party you’re planning and your budget, whether it’s casual with a buffet, a brunch, or a more formal sit-down affair.
- Experience: A Vaughan banquet hall that has been planning events for 30-plus years will reduce the risks of anything going wrong.
- Service: Finding a venue that offers exceptional service will reduce stress and provide confidence that your guests will have a memorable experience.
- Ambience: An engagement party calls for a special venue with inspired details that set the tone for the event. This includes flexible event space that can be customized to meet the needs of your intimate guest list.
2. Create a customized menu
Engagement parties are an occasion where every detail should reflect the couple. This puts a lot of pressure on you to create an inspired menu that they’ll enjoy. Since the couple is still basking in the newness of their engagement, you want to create a menu that suits the occasion and creates an experience all your guests will appreciate. Inspiration can come from many places, including the following:
- Their cultural backgrounds
- Are they more down-to-earth and appreciate something casual and fun?
- Are they a more formal couple who would prefer something sophisticated?
- Do they want to hint at what’s to come, or want a party completely separate from their big day?
- Does the budget allow for something more extravagant, or is this an event that requires some careful planning to keep costs down?
- Is this a day or evening event?
- Would a brunch or lunch be okay, or is this more like a dinner event?
- Is this a sit-down meal or a buffet?
Remember, you can’t outshine the wedding itself, so plan to keep things lower profile and casual as opposed to overly formal with several courses. That said, if this is the level of events you tend to have, and it’s expected, it’s okay to indulge!
3. Celebrate with the right “cocktails”
If drinks are part of the plan, consider the types of drinks that reflect the happy couple:
- Would they get a kick out of a customized cocktail, or would they prefer champagne or prosecco to welcome guests?
- Do they love their wine, or is draft beer more up their alley?
- What time of day is the party? Is it a brunch that’s ideal for mimosas and Caesars, or a dinner where wine is more suitable?
- Is it easier to have a full bar featuring the old standbys, or do you want to limit alcohol to a few basic choices, such as wine or beer?
4. Timing
Timing is important. You want to build on the excitement of the engagement, so anything past a month or two will feel like an afterthought. The longer you wait, the more the couple will be stressed about the wedding planning and the less enthused they might be about adding one more thing to their calendar.
You also want to avoid doing it too soon, or you risk having a low turnout due to short notice. Unless this is a surprise, speak to the couple to find out their availability and aim to get the invites out based on a date planned within a month of their formal announcement.
5. Guest list
Engagement parties tend to be more intimate when it comes to the guest list. Focus on immediate family, close friends, and relatives, and you’ll likely get the guest list right.
As the host, you want to be able to enjoy yourself, spend time with the couple and your guests, and create something special, not overly showy. Otherwise, you might overwhelm the couple and make it difficult for the families to get to know each other.
6. Consider if you’re the right host!
Hosting an engagement party tends to be left to the parents, close friends, or the couple themselves. To be even more specific, traditionally, it tends to be the bride’s parents. If you don’t fit this description, you might not be the right person to host the event.
Common exceptions might be if you’ve been like a parent to the bride, or you’re considered a close friend of the family who is always involved or even hosts these types of major events.
If a party isn’t announced, it might be that the couple decided it isn’t something they want. If you are the parents of the bride, consider reaching out to your in-laws to see if they would like to host with you.
Also, it’s okay to have a friend-based engagement party, a family-based event, and even an additional celebration held by the couple. Tradition isn’t always as important, depending on the couple.
7. Keep it simple
This isn’t a “blow-out” party where no expense is spared, the guest list is endless, and every aspect of the event screams extravagance. Instead, it’s a quiet celebration where the engagement is formally acknowledged and the two families, and in some cases the couple’s friends, get acquainted before the chaos of wedding planning begins.
As a result, you want to keep things simple, with the focus on mingling, enjoying drinks, sharing a few toasts, and having a great meal. Activities are not expected and not really something you need!
Contact the Experts at Château Le Jardin
If you’re hosting an engagement party at a Vaughan banquet hall and don’t know where to begin, these tips will help you create an occasion that everyone will remember.
For more information about Château Le Jardin’s engagement parties at a Vaughan banquet hall, click here. You can also call us at 1-888-529-8573 or book a consultation online.
