How to Announce Your Engagement

Are you looking for ideas on how to announce your engagement? There are many announcement traditions and creative ways to spread your happy news to family and friends. Learn how to announce your engagement in the manner that suits your lifestyle.

Learn about engagement announcement etiquette.

Engagement is an exciting time for you and your fiancé. Now that you have the ring, it is time to figure out which type of engagement announcement fits you as a couple. Here is an overview of the different types of engagement announcements.

Parties are a great place to announce an engagement and surprise close friends and family. Many couples choose this type of announcement when they want to witness the first reactions of their loved ones in person or feel that this is more personal than a card or phone call.

Announcement cards are the traditional formal way to inform relatives and friends about engagements. Years ago, parents sent out the cards on behalf of the couple. Today couples select and send out engagement announcement cards.

Newspaper engagement notices are another way for couples to announce engagements to the general public. Since newspapers reach a larger audience, friends, relatives and acquaintances all receive the engagement news. Many couples choose to run a newspaper engagement notice along with another form of announcement such as cards.

In today's computer-driven society, more couples are using the Internet to announce engagements to the people that they regularly talk to online. Many times, people are already talking daily online to close relatives and friends so online announcements are convenient.

Templates, graphics, ecards and streaming videos allow couples to choose many different ways to creatively announce engagements online in either a fancy or casual manner.

Now that you have a basic idea of the common engagement announcement types, it is time to figure out how you prefer to announce the engagement. The answer depends upon your personal taste, the formalness of the wedding, the importance of tradition and the people on your mailing list.

If you and your fiancé are planning a formal wedding and enjoy tradition, it is best to send out formal announcement cards and also place an engagement newspaper announcement. This will also satisfy any close relatives who strongly support engagement etiquette and wedding traditions.

Even if you talk online to many friends, email announcements won't work for relatives and friends that don't check email regularly. Email announcements are most successful as an additional announcement, not the sole announcement. However, if everyone you want to share engagement news with is online regularly, an email engagement notice can work as the main announcement.

Once you select the engagement announcement type, you can plan the actual announcement.

Engagement announcement wording generally must contain the following elements:

• Full names of the future bride and groom
• Full names of both sets of parents
• A statement about their intention to marry
• Sometimes the wedding date or a general idea of the wedding date is included
• Newspaper announcement may also include details such as hometowns, college degrees, professions or church affiliation

It is best to mention only a general idea of a wedding date instead of the actual date to prevent someone confusing the announcement with a wedding invitation. In fact, mentioning the wedding date is not required by etiquette since the engagement announcement may be sent out before the wedding date is secured.

When couples choose to announce an engagement in the newspaper, they generally only announce it in their local newspaper. However, if you or your fiancé have lived in more than on location, you should consider placing additional engagement announcements in other newspapers where large numbers of people whom you want to share the news with, reside. You can also place announcements in alumni newsletters and club newsletters.

Now that you have learned how to announce your engagement, it will be easy to select the announcement type that fits your lifestyle. Enjoy announcing your engagement because it is the first true step in planning the wedding of your dreams.

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