It somehow feels like just yesterday and also ages ago that we got engaged! One of my close friends keeps telling me to make sure I’m enjoying the engagement period because it all goes so fast. Well, it’s going even faster than anticipated because we are planning to get married THIS YEAR!
We are planning a very intimate wedding of mostly family for the end of the year. It was a pretty easy decision for us to decide against traditional events like bridal showers and the like. Even so, we knew we wanted to find a way to celebrate with our closest friends before the big day. An engagement party was the perfect solution.
// the party //
I cannot put into words how much it meant to finally see so many of our friends and favorite people! We were so fortunate to have friends drive in from out of town. Chris, Whitney’s brother and my partner-in-petty, also flew in for the occasion.
I am always a ball of nerves before any social event, which has only been made worse by so much alone time during the panini, but that all quickly melted away as the doorbell began to ring.
The first guests to arrive were Whitney’s aunts, Claire (our shared friend who we fight over), and Whitney’s best friend since elementary school, Devon! I was so excited to greet everyone, make sure they grabbed something to eat and drink that I forgot to eat anything myself.
My glass of rosé was also quickly lost and not remembered until we were toasting with champagne. I was so lost in the moment and enjoying everyone’s company that I forgot to take a real outfit pic. It was amazing!
Much of the party was spent chatting it up, dancing, and eating all the things. We broke up the time by playing a game (more on that below) and having a few toasts. It was truly a perfect day.
KEEP READING FOR MY TIPS ON HOW TO PLAN A BACKYARD ENGAGEMENT PARTY!
// how to plan a backyard engagement party //
1.SECURE A VENUE
First things first, I knew I wanted an outdoor venue with plenty of space for everyone to feel comfortable. We are all coming from over a year of quarantine, mostly seeing only immediate family, and very limited social interactions. Keeping that in mind, I didn’t want to overwhelm guests with an indoor party or a small space. We were so lucky that Whitney’s parents agreed to host the party at their home in their gorgeous backyard. This made selecting a date pretty easy, too!
2. CHOOSE YOUR AESTHETIC
My style is lately leaning towards all neutral everything. I made sure to keep this in mind while creating a mood board of saved inspo on Instagram. It’s so important to remember to prioritize your personal style when doing anything wedding related. I didn’t want to look back at photos and feel like the aesthetic seemed forced instead of authentic to our style and personalities. Keeping this in mind, we went with a blush, white, champagne, and gold palette.
Since we were going to be outside, a garden party theme was an easy decision. The backyard was already beautifully landscaped so we didn’t have to add much for the “garden” part and were instead able to focus on fun and functional elements.
I spent a chunk of time curating exactly how I wanted everything to look and recommend you do the same. Everything from the font on the cookies to our favorite music to play and where the bartender should set up. We both also refused to have a tent. Keep reading for how we prepared for the Memphis heat.
3. NARROW DOWN THE GUEST LIST
We decided pretty early on to keep the list a manageable number for guests to be able to comfortably interact, for our own sanity after not being around many people for over a year, and out of respect for Whitney’s parent’s home. The magic number we landed on was (50). You don’t necessarily need to know the exact number but it’s good to have one in mind when reaching out to vendors. Even with (50) guests in mind we invited (65) and the day of the party ended up with (45) guests.
4. SECURE VENDORS
This one sounds like a no-brainer but we found it so important to decide as soon as possible which aspects of the party we could handle (ordering custom napkins on Etsy, picking up desserts, etc.) and what we planned to outsource. I highly recommend reaching out to preferred vendors as soon as possible. In-person events were just starting back when we started planning and it took quite a while for a lot of folks to get back to us. Some actually didn’t reply until after the event. Ha!
You will want to come up with a list of things you think we will need from vendors (rentals, catering, etc.) and determine a budget. We were pretty firm on our budget, which meant being flexible with decor, and spending more or less on other aspects than planned.
Another thing to keep in mind when selecting vendors is the weather. We selected a late May date. Memphis weather in May is absolute chaos. It’s storming one week, hot with insane humidity the next week, and perfectly mild the next. We came up with a rain plan (that we thankfully didn’t have to use) and prepared for sun by renting cocktail tables with parasols and placing benches under shaded areas.
5. SEND INVITATIONS + SCHEDULE REMINDERS
We initially planned to send paper invitations but didn’t want to risk having them stuck in the post for an extended period of time. Paperless Post turned out to be an awesome alternative. It gave us the flexibility to email folks who check their emails, text people who don’t use email, update guest RSVPs on the back-end, and easily schedule reminders.
The reminders were key! People are busy. We sent short and quick reminders two weeks out, one week out, and the day before the party. Details included info about requested attire, parking, a heads up about games, and a Spotify playlist to get everyone ready for the party vibes.
6. CONFIRM AGREEMENTS, DELIVERY, PICK-UP, ETC. WITH VENDORS
Don’t skip this step! Double check your agreements, vendor arrivals, rental delivery/ pick-up times, and the time you can pick up anything you need from other vendors before the party starts. We were very fortunate to work with very organized folks who were in and out mostly without us noticing.
7. RELAX AND ENJOY THE PARTY WITH YOUR GUESTS
Whatever slips your mind does not matter. I promise all your guests care about is celebrating you and maybe enjoying a cocktail or two. Hours before the party I found myself freaking out about random elements that didn’t come together. I was so bummed that it was way too hot to put out or even have servers pass the mini French opera cakes we ordered, the filler balloons we ordered for the house were mostly duds, and the dessert display didn’t quite turn out how I planned.
Guess what? Literally no one cared. We kept the music blasting, the rosé flowing, and the food passed. As you can see from the photos, there were lots of laughs and catching over much more important things than dessert displays.
True to our personalities, we decided to only play one quick game. Just before we toasted and winded down the party everyone indulged us in a game of “Guess Who?” to learn some fun and quirky facts about each of us. The laughs and the debates over answers were absolutely hilarious. The fat heads we used during the game were also a hit and quite a few folks tried to sneak off with them!
// pin this for later //
A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE HARDY FAMILY FOR HOSTING THE PARTY, EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATED WITH US, AND TOTAL ICON PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ALWAYS CAPTURING OUR MILESTONE MOMENTS OVER THE YEARS!
