A Cultured Pearl

Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Party

Posted on December 31st, 2015

When I called my parents to tell them Ian had proposed and we were engaged, they did not bother feigning surprise. They expressed their joy, shared their best wishes… and told us that they had already booked an engagement party for December 26. So we’ve been looking forward to the engagement party since before we had a wedding date to anticipate.

First things first: I needed a dress to wear. I emailed Lydia, my Nordstrom stylist, who pulled a whole bunch of options for me.

To be on the safe side, I needed to try on every dress Nordstrom carries. I liked this polka dot dress and this jeweled shift that matched the colors of our wedding, but I wanted to wear something a bit brighter. This green ruffle dress didn’t fit quite right, and as much as I wanted this red Ted Baker dress to be my favorite, it really needed to be hemmed, and I couldn’t quite fit alterations into my budget. I also considered re-wearing a scalloped dress I loved, but again, the whole dark colors thing…

Online, this pink dress didn’t look like much… But in person, it was perfect! And my parents loved that at the party, they could say, “look for Helen, she’s the one in pink!” Plus POCKETS. I paired it with the most fun glitter shoes (#bowsontoes), and a Perry Street necklace I bought from a Rocksbox.

I don’t have as many photos of the party as I wish I did because I was trying to just enjoy the moment– and the moment was truly magical. The room was still entirely decorated for Christmas, so there were tall trees, twinkling lights, and fragrant garlands everywhere, with a roaring fire to keep us warm on a rainy night. As it was a pre-dinner cocktail party there wasn’t a full meal served, but the buffet featured a raw bar with crab, shrimp, and tuna, and the most delicious beef tenderloin sandwiches. My parents also surprised us with delicious passed canapes, including slices of bacon caramelized in sugar. Probably not a health food, but certainly a delicacy!

The eighty guests included all of my cousins, and since none of us live in the same city, it’s always extra special when we’re in the same place.

Many of our bridal party and friends live out of town and were not able to join, but we were so happy to have some of our favorites join us. I got to share the excitement of being engaged with one of my oldest friends…

…and was so lucky to have some of my bridesmaids keeping my champagne flute full, too.

To be honest, though, at times I found the experience to be kind of overwhelming. I didn’t get to visit with each of the guests the way I wish I had, and the whole thing felt like it went by in a flash. When I think about having 300 guests on the big day, I can’t even really conceptualize the emotional magnitude. There’s 100% a part of me that wishes we could have an “elopement” with our very closest friends and family in Napa, followed by a nice dinner party. But at the same time, we really do feel so lucky that so many people want to share in our big day.

So I took a minute to let the weight of being engaged sink in…