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An Engagement Party often is regarded as a light, fun festivity. The fact is, though, that the history and evolution of the Engagement Party is a reflection of the changing roles of women—and, for that matter, of relationships in general—in society.
Shockingly, brides to be in ancient Greece were not even permitted to attend their own engagement parties. At that time, the ‘party’ was more like a business transaction in which the bride’s father bartered away his daughter’s hand in marriage to the groom.
Up through the 1960s in America, when father still was supposed to know best, dads hosted the engagement parties on behalf of their children. Often the father of the bride or groom would announce the engagement; then friends and family members would gather around the happy couple to shower them with congratulations and warm wishes.
Gifts have been added to this equation in modern times, as has the active participation of the bride to be in her own engagement party. Today the couple works together to plan their own party (which is sometimes staged at the home they share—an unthinkable concept in olden times), which often involves food, gift giving, and perhaps music and dancing.
The modern engagement party kicks off the long, complex wedding planning process; and, with the exception of the bachelor and bachelorette parties (yep, the brides get to enjoy those too—who’d a thunk it?!), this is one of the last times the couple will enjoy fun with friends before saying, “I do.” Join the fun—plan an Engagement Party today!
Share
the Engagement
History with your
kids as a bedtime
story.
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