Am I wrong in wanting to throw my own engagement Party?
138645
Yes and no...traditionally, as you already know, the groom's parents throw a party in honor of the engaged couple as a chance to signal their approval of the match and to introduce the prospective bride to their friends and family she hasn't yet met....not having that, in some areas, might give rise to whispers that there is some reluctance on the part of your prospective in-laws....so if his folks want to give you a party, for heaven's sake, let them!\nThere is nothing stopping you from arranging another celebration of the engagement, but I'd ask a few close friends to put the word around that presents are not expected because it's considered tacky to appear to be throwing a party to get more gifts...same reason you can't throw your own shower.\nGood luck and best wishes for a lovely wedding and a happy marriage.
494130
Hi!  Congrats on your engagement - I just got married in October.  The cost of invitations is unbelievable, isn't it??  What I did instead of going to a printer was create them myself.  Any good craft store (Michaels's, AC Moore) has pre-made wedding inviations kits that you print on the computer.  Everything is encluded (inviation, response card, and corresponding envelopes). Mine looked professional and for 225 guests I spent about $100 total. The directions are easy to follow and they turn out great.  Just a thought!  Good luck!!!!
87800
I think that you and your fiance should do what ya'll are comfortable with.  This is not your parents wedding, it's yours.  And you (hopefully) only have one in your lifetime.  If ya'll both want a big wedding, then by all means, have a big wedding.  If ya'll want a small one, have a small one.  There are pros and cons to each.\n\nA large wedding, as you've found out, takes a lot of planning.  While it can be the event for people to remember, or a way to show off, it is oftentimes EXTREMELY stressing (which is the last thing you want on your wedding day!)  Large weddings are also very costly.  You should think of how you would use the money that you would save by having a smaller wedding, perhaps a down-payment on a house, new furniture, or put it into a retirement savings account.  It's never too soon to plan these things!  \n\nSmall weddings, while not exactly the party that'll go down in history, are oftentimes more intimate, and mean more to the people involved.  They are less stressful (for the most part), and can help shorten the engagement period.  They are also usually a lot less expensive than large weddings.\n\nMy advice would be to sit down with your fiance and plan the wedding of YA'LL's dreams, not your parents'.  This is an expression of ya'll's love towards each other.  It may also make your fiance uncomfortable if he/she believes that you will do what your parents ask, even if it's not what you want.
941859
It doesn't look rude if you throw a baby shower for yourself. I would hold my own shower and not invite the mil.\n\nShe sounds rude and selfish.
597926
I'm doing my own invitations as well, and a friend of mine recommended checking out http://www.verseit.com/. I've not gotten far into the site, but its got some really cool ideas for invitations wording!
408566
Um, if they're living in the same household, then it's only courdial to invite everyone.  Yes, it is your day and it should be planned out to your specifications, but think about the "bad-blood" that could be created or spared based or your decision to just let someone show up and hey....maybe give you an extra gift.  It's worth it to me to suck it up.  Besides, there will be so many other people there, it isn't like you have to sit and hold hands with him/her the entire time and be like "look who I invited, right here, uh huh, see who came, blah blah blah."
724644
Absolutely!! What girl doesn't dream of getting married and starting a family!! I think for the most part, most girls want that at one point or another! Sometimes, it happens early for some than it does earlier!! And going to a wedding and seeing the new couple together can make anyone excited for that type of committment! But it sounds like you have your head on your shoulders and know you don't want it yet, but yes, you are normal!! We all want the fairytale!! :-)
231749
Why not???  Do what you want to do.  Forget wedding ettiquette.  I think it's wonderful that your family wants to do something for him as well.  I'm sure he will appreciate it...the only problem might be the finances.  Anyone who went to the first one may not be able to go to the second one because they can't afford it.  That is really the only thing to consider I think.
1166436
1. For a unique party favor my groom and I are giving out lottery tickets. Only $1 each.. I will have a note in the program stating the tickets were chosen because we are so lucky to have our family and friends with us on our wedding day.\nI will also add a line that all winnings will need to be split with the bride and groom!\n\n 2. Instead of having an ordinary guestbook, that you hardly will look at again, I am going to create a photo guest book.  My guestbook attendants will take polaroids of each guest... either individually or in a group, however they come, and put it on the pages of the guestbook/scrapbook.  The guests will then sign on the bottom of their picture.  My fiance and I will then have a photo album of all the guests at our wedding! :) GST\n\n3. We are getting married next year and instead of the traditional wedding we have decided to go with a "rock-n-roll" theme. We are going to have records displayed around the hall with our names on them and a picture of the two of us. Our colors are navy blue, black and silver so there will be plenty of those colors…from the silver glitter on the black tables cloths to the silver spray painted roses.\n\n 4. Since this is a second marriage and there are children that will be blended into a new family, we are decorating the tables at the reception with photo trees holding photos of my future husband and I and our children doing things together. We feel it shows that this marriage is not the union of just two people, but the formation of a new family.\n\n5. We had a shortage of single men and women invited to our wedding, most of our friends and family were already married.  So we needed to come up with something different to replace the traditional bouquet and garter throwing.  We invited everyone to the dance floor and the dj played several lovely, slow songs.  First the dj told all couples married two hours or less to sit down (everyone got a kick out of that).  Then a few moments later, any married a year or less, than five years, ten years and so on, until there was only one couple left.  They were neighbors and friends of my family and had been married for fifty years.  We asked them to stay on the dance floor while I took a seat and my husband made a big show of removing my garter.  We then faced the winning couple, congratulated them on their fifty years and asked them for their best marriage advice as we presented them with the bouquet and garter.  They were very touched and it gave us a great feeling too.
40259
This is her special day, and she wants you to be a part of it. The Hostess is a big role! There could be a number of reasons why you were not asked to be a part of the wedding party (Bridesmaid/maid-of-honor). It is only right for family to be chosen BEFORE friends. Some brides go against that, but truly, that is the proper way to handle choosing your wedding party. Don't take offense.\n\nYou should not confront her. If you are that upset about not being chosen to be in the wedding party, you can always decline being her hostess and just go as a regular guest. No matter what, the fact that she thought of you to have a role in the wedding shows she thought of you. Nothing starts up comotion like having to choose your wedding party. Your friend needs your support, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS CRAZY AND HECTIC TIME!
1161421
You shouldn't feel offended then if she didn't invite any of the family. Maybe she didn't want to be bothered by everyone and was planning on announcing it after the wedding was over. Did you ask her about it?
104652
I'm a big fan of the website www.theknot.com.  You can go under real weddings and choose the catagories summer and outdoor weddings.  Get creative ideas from others and then cater it to your own vision.  \n1. A pot luck picnic is a great idea, especially if it's family only.  To coordinate the menu though, you will want to designate who brings what.\n2. Make your own invitations and use a postcard for the rsvp (it will save on using an additional envelope plus the postage).  Get ideas off of the knot website.\n3. Compile your own cds.  My brother is going to be the master of ceremonies for ours and has now recruited others to join him.  \n4. David's Bridal is always advertising dresses for $99.  You can also check out what they have online and print out your favorites to bring to the appt.\n5. Enlist the help of the amateurs...that have a bit of skill.  Know anyone who takes good pictures...there's your photographer.  Know anyone who can make a cake...there you go!  You can go with a simple 3 tier round cake with white frosting and decorate it with cascading daisies.\n\nHope this helps!
693477
you CAN def. do this! it will take a bit more time- so you need help. friends and family. \n*draw up a budget ASAP. $7000 total (probably $3000 will be for food and drink) reception location $500. flowers $1000. $250 dress - $900 dj/music etc.  \n*keep the guest list to a min. If you have a guest total of 75- you can get decent food at $30 per person and the rest for drinks.\nAlso keep the bridal party small. \n*host a cocktail and light buffet reception instead of a full meal. this can come off really swanky- like a high-class uptown loft party.\n*skip the party favors. go for candy treats your guests can eat. most of the time the little frames and bells etc. just get thrown away by guests anyway.\n*ASK questions. When you call a vendor- let them know you are on a budget. Oftentimes if they can't help you- they know someone who can.\n*Make your own centerpieces out of a candlescape. Florist centerpieces run about $50 per table. You can do them yourself for around $25. \n\n*Oh- one thing I wouldn't skimp on is the photog. Your photos will be the only things left after the wedding is over. the flowers will wilt. your dress will be stored. the cake will be gone etc. but the photos will last a lifetime.\n\ngood luck! and remember to have fun w/ it. planning your wedding should be half the fun! :D
636267
This is interesting since I went through this with my son. The unfortunate part is that you want to do this just before x-mas and have people go south to join you on this wedding party. The downside is the cost to everyone for a forced trip to see you get married. My son and his bride invited 60 people to join them. The cost was in the $1000's of dollars....12 people showed up...the others could not afford the trip...even I did not go...I could not afford the price of the trip and accommodations either....in my opinion...get married where it is convenient for everyone to come....IT may be YOUR DAY...but LIFE is not ALL ABOUT YOU...ultimately
1042040
Instead of him telling you that if that's what YOU want then go ahead and do it, which doesn't sound very convincing on his part to me, he needs to actually say directly that yes that is what I want to do too, not if that's what makes YOU happy because he isn't including himself in that equation and that kind of leaves him room to get himself out of it if he up and decides to take off before hand. So no I wouldn't make plans just yet not til you hear him say He is ready and wanting to and he buys you an engagement ring. Then if that happens you can probably be more sure of it being a true thing.
155720
Your mother could throw you a combined engagement party and going away party.  That would be nice for your friends and family in the area to wish you well.\n\nIf you have a close girl friend or sister, talk to her about planning a bachelorette party or just a girls night out.
112878
I think it would be cool too. If you're a teenager you might want to start planning kids birthday parties. It helps the parents a lot. The link below should help you. It's specifically about wedding planning but there are simialr things.