He asked. You said, “Yes!”

And now you can’t wait for all the celebrations to start. They begin with a classic engagement party, the purpose of which is to announce to the world that you can’t wait to be married and that both families meet and welcome their new relative.

Traditionally the engagement party is hosted by the bride’s family; if not, the groom’s family has the honors. In the past it was one of those occasions dominated by the older generation: lots of formal introductions and a chance to see if the newlyweds-to-be had families that could measure up to each other.

Don’t let this happen to you. Plan a really low-key, informal engagement party. Let Mom and Dad participate, but sweetly tell them you want to run the show. Then make it your night to do all the introductions, thus taking pressure off the ‘rents. They can still help in a big way – by picking up the tab!

¢ For new ideas about how to throw a hipper version of an old-fashioned engagement party, see page 8D.