Newspaper Engagement Announcements
From LoveToKnow EngagementRings
Writing newspaper engagement announcements can be tricky—especially if you're writing your own.
How to Write Newspaper Engagement Announcements
Generally, if you're the bride or the groom, you won't have to worry about how to write your own announcement. Traditionally, the bride's family writes the piece and puts it in the newspaper. More and more couples seem to be taking on the little details these days, though, so you may find yourself with your pen poised above a blank sheet of paper to write your own blissful announcement.
First, check with the newspaper where you plan to make the announcement. In some cases, the staff will have you fill out a form with all the details and put it into the desired format themselves. Also find out what their guidelines are for including engagement pictures.
The Wording
The wording in engagement announcements is fairly straightforward. They're typically written from the bride-to-be’s parents' point of view (though that's optional now and you can announce your own happiness to the world). It normally depends on who will be hosting the wedding.
Longer announcements generally include all of the parents' names and their hometowns, where the couple is from, and the bride and groom's occupations and education. You may want to mention a vague wedding timeframe rather than publishing all the time and date details. If you choose to omit the wedding date completely, that's okay too, but be prepared to answer, "So, when's the big day?" quite frequently.
Who is hosting the wedding plays a great role in the wording of the announcement. If the bride's parents are divorced but both had a role in raising her, it will be worded differently than if the bride's mom and new spouse are hosting the wedding, and different still if a friend is hosting the event.
Special Circumstances
There are special circumstances that can take a straightforward announcement and turn it into something a bit more complicated where wording and etiquette are concerned. The first sentence is the biggest thing that changes as the family dynamics change. General wording is the same except where noted.
If the Parents are Divorced
[Bride's mother] is pleased to announce the engagement of her daughter…[Bride] is also the daughter of [bride's father] of [his hometown]… If the mother of the bride is remarried and she and her new spouse are hosting the wedding, you can say something like, [Bride's mom and spouse's name] are pleased to announce the engagement of [bride's mom's] daughter…
If One Parent is Deceased
TheKnot.com has a great example: "The engagement of [bride], daughter of [bride's mother] and the late [bride's father], to [groom], son of [groom's parents] of [parents' hometown], is announced by the bride's mother..."
If It's a Second or Third Wedding
[Bride], [bride's career], is to be married to [groom], [groom's career]… You may then opt to include the couple's parents' names and wedding date. In many cases, college graduation is a distant memory for a couple on their second or third wedding, so that detail can be left out.
If a Friend is Hosting
This one is similar to a traditional engagement announcement. Instead of saying, "…proud to announce the engagement of her daughter," though, the piece will say something more along the lines of, "…proud to announce the engagement of her sister / friend." Parents' names may be listed later in the piece.
If the Couple is Hosting
This one is similar to the second or third wedding announcement since the couple is hosting the event in both instances. If the bride and/or groom are recent college graduates, that can be included in addition to or in place of the career section.
When to Make the Announcements
The traditional time frame for posting an engagement announcement is about two to three months prior to your wedding date. In most cases, unless you're having a whirlwind relationship, that will give you time to nail down the date, make arrangements, and make sure everything's set before you tell the world.
Where to Put Your Announcements
- The local newspaper, of course. If the bride and groom are from different towns, announcements can be run in both papers.
- Alumni newsletters or magazines, especially if both the bride and groom matriculated from the same college or university.
- Newspapers near grandparents or other family members who may want one as a keepsake, or where the bride and groom have numerous connections.
Additional Samples
Writing about yourself can be intimidating. When do you say too much, when do you say too little? How do you make sure you give just the right details to make people say, "I'm so happy for them" rather than, "What about [detail you left out]" or "Wow, I didn't need to know all that. It seems like a straightforward message, but if you're newly engaged, your emotions are probably soaring so much you'd love to see a few example newspaper engagement announcements just to be sure you're doing it correctly. Consider:
- BWedd.com offers links to several samples of announcements.
- The Knot has samples from several scenarios. You can find announcements here from the bride's parents, a single parent, a remarried parent, if one parent is deceased, a friend or close family member, or yourselves.
Alternatives
The newspaper isn’t the only place you can make your announcement, though it's one of the most traditional formats. You can also send save-the-date cards as engagement announcements or send email engagement announcements to share the news quickly.
Newspaper engagement announcements are the first step toward being a couple in the public eye, and knowing how to properly write one and where to place it can help couples share their news with grace and dignity.
Learn More
This page has been accessed 15,017 times. This page was last modified 03:10, 17 January 2008.
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