If you’re in the millennial or Gen-Z generations, chances are you’re going to be busy in the Spring attending weddings of friends and loved ones, with some 2.5 million weddings predicted in 2022—the highest figure since 1984! Following a tough two years, couples are keen to celebrate the value of togetherness alongside their loved ones. That means they embrace every chance possible to spend meaningful time together—including engagement parties. Read on for inspiration if you are currently organizing your own (or a loved one’s) event, and you’d like it to reflect the latest trends.
Budget-Friendly, Micro Engagement Parties
One of the strongest trends on the wedding scene is togetherness, which means that many couples hold smaller events that bring their closest circle together in meaningful events. Small and affordable engagement celebrations (which have a maximum of 20 to 50 guests) are all about beautiful design, quality food and drinks, and the comfort of those you love. Many couples are choosing mid-morning soirées or afternoon teas to avoid serving heavy meals. Make your event short and sweet but über stylish. Prioritize your table décor by placing wildflowers in old vintage jars, decorating trees with fairy lights in trees, hanging your photographs on clotheslines, and making your own DIY welcome signs at the entrance to your party.
Nature, Nature Everywhere
Millennial and Gen-Z couples have a keen interest in sustainability, and they value the Great Outdoors highly. This, coupled with health and safety concerns, has led many couples to opt for outdoor engagement parties and weddings with a picnic-style vibe. Whether you hire a dedicated botanical garden space or hold your party in your backyard, there are many ways to up the visual appeal of your event. One is to add rustic elements such as wooden wheelbarrows to serve guests beer. Another is to delight guests with a wide array of colorful charcuterie atop a long wooden slab that covers the entirety of your wooden table. You can also light up the evening with candlelit lanterns and embellish tables and side furniture with candles in all shapes and sizes.
Making it Interactive
Because this year is all about valuing the time you spend with your loved ones (and welcoming friends and family from abroad who have traveled to attend your wedding), couples are going beyond events in which guests are merely passive bystanders. One way to encourage guest interaction is through games. Just a few trending engagement party games say wedding experts The Knot, are trivia games (testing how well guests know the couple) and picture match (cut various photos of the couple in two and give each guest one half of each photo. Their aim is to find the person with the other half and learn three fun things about them that they can then share with the rest of your guests). Quiz-type games about famous couples are another fun team game that can encourage everyone to interact and have a great time.
Weddings are back in fine form, but they are very different in spirit to what they were two years ago. In this day and age, it’s all about togetherness, delighting in being able to spend time with beloved friends and family. Couples are currently embracing smaller parties set in natural settings. They also take time to ensure guests mingle, get to know each other, and even form important bonds they can deepen on the couple’s Big Day.
Featured Photo by Belle Collective on Unsplash