Engagement parties can come in for tricky moments of indecision and sometimes panic as to what to do. Sometimes, this is exacerbated when money is tight and the event is fast approaching. Who has money to spare in this economy? To some, engagement parties are a bit of a frivolous affair. There is fear that buy asking close friends and family for help, you’re burdening them. Yet this tends to be a family gathering of two sides to celebrate love

On the other hand, thankfully, life’s greatest moments can occur despite a shaky economy or what many people’s thoughts might be of you. And doesn’t a newly engaged couple deserve to announce their happy news with flourish and style — even now? The answer, of course, is yes and remember this is your special day so it’s important you plan it your way. With a little creativity, you can throw an engagement party without breaking your or anyone else’s bank. Here’s how:

1.    Seize the Moment - party right after the proposal

Sometimes it’s important to seize the moment. For example, family and friends are now a trendy thing in supporting and helping make for a memorable proposal right now. They can help you document the proposal and make it even more exciting. Such family gatherings such as at a birthday party, family holiday, or other family celebrations can present a great moment since everyone is around to propose and after that all go to celebrate right after the proposal. Should you decide to propose on a Holiday or a Birthday, even better, then the venue to host the party is all there set for you.

2.    Keep a close eye on the Guests’ List

Obviously, smaller engagement parties cost less than huge bashes. Refining the guest list is key. And you do not have to feel cheap when limiting the number of invitations, you send out; it’s just economics. It’s actually part of the engagement party tradition. Engagement parties originally were meant to give the couple’s closest family and friends a chance to meet before the wedding. A more intimate affair allows everyone to really talk and get to know one another.

3.    Creatively inviting Guests

Printed invitations come at a cost —and they have to be posted out to your invited guests. While for some engagements, this will come as standard, for others, they might be unnecessary. The key is in refining your guest list is you will post out your invitations. One way would be to handwrite the invitations and envelopes yourself. You can purchase festive fill-in-the-blanks-style invitations at a party store, or visit a craft store for blank cards you can decorate at home. Even if you chose to have them printed, there are great deals out there that will come at a cut price. A family member might even be willing to chip in to cover if you asked. After all, an engagement party is a celebration of love between two families.

4.    This isn’t a mini wedding!

It’s important to put the engagement party into context. While for some families this can be a special moment that requires a full spend with no stop, for others, it’s important to remember that this isn’t the wedding yet. Weddings often come in with detail to the last dot be it a once-in-a-lifetime gown, stretch limos, elaborate centrepieces, a DJ or band, favours for guests, etc. While some engagement parties might go this far, it’s not uncharacteristic for an engagement party to be a miniature version of the larger celebration to come. It’s entirely ok and expected to opt to skip things like limos, centrepieces and favours at this moment and save it for the bigger day to come.

5.    Can You Skip the gifts?

Then comes the gifts part. Again context is important and while many guests will choose to turn with gifts to lavish you with, if sticking to a budget, it might be right that you pass the savings on to your guests, or even theme the party for a charity so a gift donation is made to a charity of your cause. In this case, you could include these lines on the invitations: “Your presence is the only present requested. Please, no gifts.” Some might see an engagement party as less than a wedding shower, and that the bride doesn’t need to be showered with gifts. Others might argue further that it’s not the wedding either, where gifts symbolize congratulations once the couple is married. They would rather see an engagement party as simply about bringing two families and their close people together and celebrating the good news. Remember that your guests’ only concern is to show up and support you, and enjoy the party. If you can skip the gifts, you might please this set of mind. Remember, some guests might insist on coming along with something. That still shouldn’t be a problem after all, it’s a celebration of love, for love and with love.

6.    Keeping the menu Simple

Food can be a huge cost to any event and so will be at your engagement so do not ignore it and leave it last. Thankfully with a little planning in time, some dishes can be prepared in advance and kept in the freezer which can help spread out the costs and work load. Best of all, you planning ahead can help you get those deals from the local supermarket in time for your engagement. It doesn’t matter too much what timing the party is whether before, during or after lunchtime or dinner or indeed an evening or night time party, you can still deliver a wonderful spread on a budget, you don’t have to serve a full meal.

One way to keep food costs down is using a finger food menu self-served including sandwiches, chicken wings and cheap and tasty nibbles and things like that…this is something many people will most definitely be confident and pretty good at!

Alternatively, you can scale down on food and beverages, cutting costs considerably. If you think in pairs, it’s easy to come up with a simple menu:wine and sweets; coffee and cookies; or champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Plan ahead so you can make the food yourself, and you’ll slash your budget even more.

7.    Venue is Important

Whether be it at Your Parent’s Home, at a Restaurant, a Garden Party or indeed Your Engagement Party in Your Home; the event venue still counts much. For example, a local church hall will for example come free or for a small donation to the Church as long as you clean up after and use it during day and many do not ask for much while most are free. In short, using a space that’s already at your disposal will cost a lot less than renting a hall or paying for restaurant service. An engagement party can take place at the home of the guests of honour for example. A close family member or friend also might be willing to lend the space—provided they’re invited to the party, of course. During colder seasons, a cozy living room will do nicely (especially if it comes with a fireplace!) while in summer, a family members large back garden can be a great space for this sort of party.

Whichever choice you have for a venue; it very much determines the décor. If you are on a budget and have hired a local church hall, why not use your fairy lights (free) from your last Christmas? Add some local garden flowers that will also most certainly be free and employ table décor whether be it crepe paper table cloths a few in a very imaginative way… you might be surprised the elegance that can be achieved with a little whit…

I am using Christmas fairy lights (free) local garden flowers (free) crepe paper table cloths a few dollars and bright colours

8.    Optional BYOB or potluck meal?

On one hand, in some families, when something big like an engagement happens family members are happy and almost creepily excited to step in a host these kinds of events. When that happens it ends up being about 10 people all fighting to do it, so there is more than enough food and stuff to go around. Essentially, engagement parties tend to be family dos that carry everyone along in such settings.

On the other hand, you might find yourself wanting to serve a full meal at the party and family is not fully engaged. In these circumstances, it might not entirely be off the cut to spread some responsibility onto your guests if they so wish to. What this means that while in Step 5, you let guests off the hook for pricey gifts, you could kindly instead ask them to bring something with them like wine or beer, non-alcoholic beverages, or a dish to share instead. It’s important to specify the items you need for your party, whether it’s a main dish, side dish, salad or dessert. You might even want to plan a theme for the food, such as Italian, Mexican or American-style picnic and get your guests to tailor their BYOB around it. Above all however is to be respectful to the dynamics at play. For example, being the bride to be’s family, they might not have met my future in-laws yet. In this case it might be a little awkward asking the groom to be’s family or friends to bring anything other than themselves but again; all within context!

At the end of it all, an engagement party of a demonstration of love… by doing your best, with love, and showing that love to all of the guests, good people will remember the event by how it made them feel, not by the decor or the food.