How to Announce Your Engagement - Tips on Etiquette

Congratulations on your recent engagement! This is a special time between you and your fiancé. Once you are ready, it's now time to share the happy news with your family members and close friends. 

In the midst of all of the excitement, it may feel like you want to tell everyone right away! However, it's important to formally announce your engagement in the appropriate order to not only save you some headaches, but to make those closest to you feel extra special. 

Who to Tell First

If you’re unsure on who to tell first, we’ve put together a few tips on engagement announcement etiquette that will help with sharing this exciting news with your loved ones.

Typically couples want to personally tell their families and close friends before they make a more public engagement announcement. Here’s the recommended order of people to tell: 

1. Parents and Children

2. Closest Friends and Immediate Family 

3. Friends and Extended Family 

4. Social Media 

Once you’ve told your loved ones, it’s also common to put an announcement in the local newspaper in each of your hometowns. Here’s a bit more information on announcement etiquette when telling your family and friends.

1. Tell Your Parents and Children 

It's traditional engagement etiquette to begin with announcing the special news to your parents first, and if possible telling them in person. If they do not live nearby then FaceTime, Skype, or a phone call would be the next best option. Your parents have been by your side since the day you were born and this is a time in your life they don’t want to miss. 

If you have children who are involved in this special time, it's important to announce the engagement to them before you tell anyone else in the family. It’s also recommended to do so alone. This allows your children to express themselves honestly and make them feel more included.

2. Closest Friends and Immediate Family

Now it's time to share your happiness with your closest friends and immediate family. If it’s not possible to announce your engagement in person, the next most personal way would be by telephone. Although you are full of excitement, it's not always desirable to drive all over town to make your announcement and this is where you need to decide on who to call. 

Make a list of the immediate friends and close family you would like to call by simply asking yourself if they would be hurt by not hearing the news from you personally. If the answer is yes, then give them a call! 

3. Email, Text or Call Distant Friends and Relatives

If you feel that you still have many friends and extended family that live far away who you want to share the engagement news with, consider sending an email or making some time to give them a call or text. This approach is great for friends and family whom you normally communicate with a few times per year. 

If you’ve already got a wedding website started, you may want to share a link to that as well so your friends and family can stay updated on your wedding planning.

4. Announce Your Engagement on Social Media

Once your big announcement has been shared with your family and close friends, it's now a good time to share this special moment with your online community through Facebook or Instagram. Before clicking “share,” it’s important to be sure you have already announced to anyone you feel deserves a more personal delivery. 

Once you have selected the perfect picture showing the love between you and your fiancé (and maybe your engagement ring), do not forget to include your wedding hashtag to add this moment to your collection of wedding snapshots.

Get the Engagement Party Planning Started

Finally, the time has come to celebrate this special announcement with your family and close friends at your engagement party. Be sure to note that everyone who is invited to this celebration should likely also be invited to the wedding. An engagement party is optional and can range from a casual backyard barbeque to an elegant cocktail party. 

If you decide to make your engagement a surprise, be sure to think of a creative cover up for the reason of the gathering.

Engagement Party Etiquette

It’s usually family members or friends that throw engagement parties and send the official invitations to the guest list. Oftentimes it’s the bride's and/or groom’s parents who want to host the party. Whoever is throwing the event, just be sure to talk to them about who you want invited. 

Wording for Engagement Announcement

If you’re looking for inspiration on the formal engagement announcement wording for the invitations, they can go something like this: “Mr. and Mrs. Stefani of Houston, Texas would like to proudly announce the engagement of their daughter, Sandy Stefani, to the wonderful John Doe, Son of Mr. and Mrs. Doe from Orlando, Florida. Please join us to celebrate the beautiful couple at the Houston Yacht Club, on this date. Wedding date is yet to be set.” 

Normally wedding details will follow later, so it’s okay to not have all of the information at this point. 

Final Word

Once you have formally announced your engagement and celebrated with your family and close friends, it's time to take your engagement photos and send out your save the date announcement. This allows your guest list to block out their calendars for your big day. 

If you’re starting to browse for a wedding dress, check out our collection online or visit a Val Stefani authorized retailer near you.