Fun Ways to Celebrate a Summertime Engagement
After the big question has been popped, but before you start planning your “I dos,” it’s time to pop the Champagne and celebrate your engagement with your friends and family! With gorgeous weather, the options for summertime engagement parties are nearly endless. Here are a few of our favorite creative engagement party ideas for summer!
I love you s’more
Is there anything better than a summertime bonfire with your nearest and dearest? Head out to the beach or into the woods for drinks around the campfire. Be sure to have hot dogs on hand for roasting, and-- of course-- plenty of supplies for s’mores. Get creative with your s’mores by offering alternative chocolate options like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Milky Ways.
Note: Be sure to check local burn bans before starting your fire!
Love on the big screen
Once the question is popped, it’s time to pop some corn and share your love story in cinematic form! You know your love rivals the greatest love stories on the screen, and now’s your chance to shine! In this social media-driven age, there’s a good chance your courtship is memorialized in digital form. Hang a white sheet in the backyard, borrow or rent a projector, and screen your love story, surrounded by your loved ones! Stock your yard with blankets, fluffy throw pillows, comfy chairs, and movie snacks!
I pick(nic) you!
Photo Credit: Jillian Margret Photography
For a low-key celebration, with a high Instagramability component, pick a picnic! The sky’s the limit with how swanky you want to get. Keeping it casual? Plan a laidback, BYOB (bring your own blanket) event with outdoor games like cornhole. Feeling fancy? Trust the experts to throw a professionally curated beachside event, complete with drinks, snacks, and a photographer to capture the whole thing! (Check out Tampa Bay locals: Emma Jean Events, Picnic Pizzazz and Tampa Bay Area Picnic Company.)
Rooftop romance
Feeling on top of the world ever since the engagement? Bring your friends and family up to cloud nine with you when you book a rooftop engagement party at a local hotel or restaurant. Hosting a party on a budget? Check with your friends about renting out the rooftop of an apartment or even using a friend’s balcony for an indoor-outdoor party option. Enjoy sips and snacks as you watch the sunset and toast your future!
A killer engagement party
Have you been swept up in the true-crime phenomenon? Celebrate your engagement with a party to die for-- a murder mystery. The element of theater, suspense, and humor will have you and your guests working together to find the “bad guy” and solve the case! Select your guests and host the murder mystery in your own backyard with Murder Mystery Co-- after all, you can trust your friends and family... right?!
Partake at a paddle pub
If craft brews are a shared love, invite your friends for an unforgettable celebration at a paddle pub! Aboard the local Kracken Cycle Boat, you can bring your own drinks and snacks-- and you’ll get a workout in at the same time! With 10 cycle stations, your boating experience is powered by you and your guests. This is a fun and unique way to get active, see some sights, and spend time together celebrating.
Get starry-eyed
There’s nothing more romantic than a night under the stars. Invite your best friends and tell them to bring their tents for an engagement party that takes you away from the city lights and into nature for some stargazing. Not into camping? Check out local glamping sites for all the stars and none of the setup!
Fiancé fiesta
Pull out the piñatas and order in your favorite Mexican cuisine for a colorful fiesta celebrating your new fiancé status! Ask guests to dress in their most colorful outfits, bring in a local Mariachi band, hire a frozen margarita machine, and dance the night away!
Winning the game of love
The Backstreet Boys want everyone to “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” but we encourage all games where hearts aren’t involved! Plan an old-school field day engagement party, complete with three-legged races, potato sack races, water balloon tosses, and egg-and-spoon races. As the festivities wind down, arrange a trivia night with questions about the newly engaged couple’s courtship and childhoods to see how well everyone knows the bride and groom-to-be! Arrange fun (or funny) prizes for winners and be sure to take lots of photos-- this is one event you’ll never want to forget!
Photo Credit: Stephanie Lanni Photography
No matter how you choose to celebrate your engagement, the most important thing is that you’ve chosen the one with whom you’ll grow old. So whether you’re celebrating with an intimate dinner for two at a local beachside restaurant or hosting a themed soiree for 50 of your closest friends, the path to “I do” has begun!
Ready to plan your wedding day? Mill Pond Estate hosts a limited number of beautifully styled, individually curated weddings every year and we’re ready to help you bring your wedding dreams to life.