How to Celebrate an Engagement Without a Party

Are you pandemic-proofing your wedding plans and wondering how to celebrate an engagement without a party? You’re not alone, and we’re here to help!

It’s been a rough season for those wanting to get married. Plans have had to be put on hold, major alterations have been implemented, and so many sacrifices have been made. But don’t lose hope! It’s still possible to celebrate this momentous time in your lives together, and it’s important that you do. 

In the true adaptive nature of the human spirit, many couples are finding creative solutions to pandemic-related problems when it comes to their wedding planning season. The first hurdle: what are you supposed to do about the engagement party in a time when parties are still mostly taboo? How do you celebrate this important and exciting moment while staying safe? We’ve got some ideas!

Here are some alternative ways for how to celebrate an engagement without a party.

1. Go virtual
2. Make it a drive-by
3. Engagement photoshoot
4. Check into a spa
5. Take a short trip or staycation
6. Make a donation
7. Treat yourselves!
8. Host a dinner with your parents to celebrate

1. Go virtual

Probably the easiest, default go-to option for how to celebrate an engagement without a party due to the pandemic is to make the celebration virtual!

Create a Zoom date with your friends and family where they can “stop by” and offer their congratulations from the safety of everyone’s own home. The celebratory sentiment will still be there, and it will still be wonderful to see everyone’s faces and hear their expressions of joy for this new step in your lives. But Zoom isn’t your only option. Here are some other apps you can use to video call for free or cheap!

To make it extra special, consider sending your guests something that you can all share “together” from afar, such as a bottle of champagne, chocolates, or a special cocktail recipe for participants to make to mark the occasion.

2. Make it a drive-by

Another creative solution for how to celebrate an engagement without a party is to make it a “drive-by” event. 

Drive-through eateries, drive-in movies, and drive-by parties have all become popular pandemic adaptations these days due to the built-in safety measures of individual vehicles. So have the party come to you! Decorate your lawn and make it festive, and ask your friends and family to come drive by and offer their congratulations one-by-one. Encourage guests to decorate their vehicles, blow up balloons, make posters, etc. to make the most of the celebration. 

This is a great option if you still want to see all of the important people you would have invited in person, just in a safer way!

3. Engagement photoshoot

If you’d rather do away with a gathering altogether, a memorable way for how to celebrate an engagement without a party is to schedule an engagement photoshoot. 

An engagement photoshoot is an excellent way to commemorate such an important decision. You’ll get pictures of you as a couple in this season that are less formal than your wedding photos will be, and enjoy a fun and romantic day together in the process. 

Many wedding photographers offer engagement photoshoots as part of their wedding packages. This is also a great opportunity to test out a potential photographer and get a feel for their style before the wedding, and to get some practice posing together for the wedding photos later. 

4. Take a short trip or staycation

Are you wondering how to celebrate an engagement without a party and disconnecting from others altogether? Take a short romantic getaway or staycation together to celebrate this new step in your relationship. Spend time together at this moment, just the two of you, before all the excitement, planning, and claims on your attention from others begin.

Disconnect from your apps and busy schedule and find special things to do together in your own home like cooking a special dinner, or make reservations at an Airbnb or hotel for a romantic weekend getaway together. Check into a spa and get a couple’s massage together to make it extra special. Here are some of the coolest places in Texas to take a trip to!

5. Make a donation

Looking for a meaningful way for how to celebrate an engagement without a party? Use this moment of commemorating your love together by giving! Find a worthwhile cause you both care about or an organization that is helping out small businesses during this pandemic and set up a donation fund that you as a couple and others can donate to in place of a party or gifts. This is a wonderful way to celebrate what love is all about. 

6. Treat yourselves!

If you’re looking for a practical way for how to celebrate an engagement without a party that makes the most use of your funds, use the money you might have put towards a party and purchase something you can use in your new home after you get married. For example, a large piece of furniture, a new appliance, or a fresh coat of paint. Try redirecting those funds toward something else in your wedding budget (weddings are expensive!), the honeymoon, or a down payment on a home or car.

7. Host a dinner with your parents to celebrate

If you want a special and meaningful way to celebrate an engagement without a party, host an intimate dinner with just your parents. If they haven’t met yet, this is a great time for them to get together and meet and get to know each other before all the excitement of planning begins or waiting until the rehearsal dinner. They will be spending a lot of time together in the future as the two families blend, so giving them a head start is not a bad idea. And while you’re at it, commemorate this time by saying thank you to the people who have supported you the most – your parents. 

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