It's a rare and exciting period in life when you're newly-engaged. After the proposal and a resounding "yes," you may suddenly feel called in a million directions. However, what should you do after getting engaged?
Between wedding planning, sharing the news with your loved ones, updating your relationship status on social media, and wanting to simply celebrate, here’s the precise order of steps to take after the proposal.
1. Toast to You
Couples only have a limited period of time to celebrate their engagement. Make it your intent to do this first. “Savor this time,” says Jung Lee, founder of Slowdance and CEO of global event planning firm FETE. “Celebrate you and keep the engagement to yourselves for just 24 hours and really enjoy it.”
Treat yourselves to a beautiful dinner and be present in the moment since it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The rest can wait.
2. Share Your News With Close Loved Ones
After reveling in your “fiancé” status, you’ll want to slowly release the news to your immediate family members and closest friends. After all, certain loved ones will appreciate the direct outreach after you’re initially engaged. Plus, you wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out.
If you're wondering how exactly to approach the process, invest time to get personal. Rather than a group text, sit down and individually reach out to each person. The gesture will go far.
3. Announce It On Social Media
After texting your grandma, your childhood bestie, and everyone in-between, it’s then time to turn to your iPhone to declare your relationship status update. Whether you pick a photo from the proposal (especially if a professional photographer was hired to document everything) or you want to share a simple photo of the engagement ring, your “announcement” should be an extension of you.
Come up with a caption… straight from the heart. Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are all wonderful tools to stay connected, so be prepared for an influx of congratulatory remarks.
4. Have a Fantasy Conversation
You’re starting off with a blank canvas, explains Jung. “What is it that you want? Start with the guest list, then figure out—at the very least—the type of wedding you and your partner want,” she notes. “People start moving on wedding planning before realizing what they truly want. Do what grounds you… Realistically, while weddings should be dreamy and a fairy tale, without the important people there with you, what’s the point?”
5. Plan an Engagement Party
Your engagement is the time to host as many parties as possible to celebrate you. “Ideally, the engagement party should be hosted by a loved one,” says Jung. “Some of our clients with great apartments will have an engagement party that’s hosted by their parents or their siblings. It’s a nice time to celebrate you.”
Acknowledge the timeline, however. “Sometimes, I feel like engagement parties happen eight months later and it feels dated. There’s something about an engagement party being fresh and within a few months of the proposal,” she adds. Also, note location and proximity if family members are all across the world. “People are spread out and I’ve seen couples throw two engagement parties. One on the East Coast and West Coast. Divvy it up.”
6. Start Your Slowdance Registry
Believe it or not, some of your loved ones will be itching to send over engagement gifts. What better place to refer them to than your newly minted wedding registry? There, they can select from a variety of price points to help you commemorate this special time period.
We recommend adding Baccarat champagne glasses (a tried-and-true) classic since you’ll have many reasons to toast to your relationship ahead. “People are excited to get you gifts after you get engaged!” She says. “They want to send you something.
If you don’t have a place for registry, you’ll be getting all these things that are some, wasteful. If you have a place where you spread the word organically, you do want a home that is filled with the things you really treasure. The only way to do it is to do that by hand selecting it.”
