How to organize an engagement
The engagement in the old days is the rite of announcement of the bride and groom. For Russians in the past - enlistment, hand-crafting, pre-Jewel - one of the stages of the wedding cycle, following the matchmaking.
The day when the couple informs their relatives about their intention to get married, or the day of submitting an application to the registry office, or both, is the modern understanding of engagement. Do not take the engagement as an unnecessary formality. After all, this is not only an important stage in your life, a certain guarantee for a wedding, but also a very beautiful custom, the observance of which you will later remember all your life (in the article Engagement: traditions and customs). If you decide to conduct one, the question arises: how to organize a modern engagement?
The engagement "as in the movie"
You have already received such a long-awaited and exciting offer of a hand and heart, which means that it's time for the groom to make official offer - in the presence of the bride's parents, their parents, and perhaps in the circle of close friends. On this day, the bridegroom should give the bride a ring as a sign of the seriousness of his intentions (but not the ring that is put on the ring finger of his right hand in the registry office, but a special ring for the engagement). You have probably seen it a lot in a movie many times: in a champagne glass for dinner, or in a bunch of flowers, or just from the hands of your beloved, the girl gets the cherished ring with a pebble, which means “Marry me”, “Be my wife. they are worn on the same finger as the engagement ring, and are inherited after the wedding, but this is rarely practiced in Russia. If you recall the story, in Russia, the bride was given valuable gifts for the engagement, but it was not necessarily a ring. If the girl rejected the groom, then the gifts in zvraschali.
If your chosen one decided to donate a ring, let it be beautiful: leaning on one knee, with unforgettable words of love in front of the audience ... And you give him also something valuable in return - a bracelet or a ring, that is, what he can wear all the time. It must be preceded by asking your parents for your hand, in particular from the father. This is a long tradition, rooted at a time when only a man stood at the head of the family.
Engagement Day: pleasant with useful
It is quite possible to combine the engagement with the filing of an application to the registry office, because it does not contradict its essence - after filling out the official paper, young people are given from three months to change their mind, no matter how regrettable it sounds, or vice versa - to further strengthen confidence in correctness made a decision and prepare for the wedding. For the same, an engagement is held — to give the lovers time to weigh everything again.
But not only for the perpetrators of the celebration of its organized. It is also very important for parents. They get to know this day, or get to know each other better, if they have already been acquainted before; discuss the upcoming celebration, are determined with the number of guests at the wedding, with the budget and venue. As well as clarify the details: the services of the registrar, toastmaster, chefs, guest accommodation for the night and much, much more.
The essence of the engagement and the main, integral to its elements: asking for the bride's hand from her father, handing the ring to the bride as a sign of seriousness of intentions, submitting an application to the registry office and the "agreement" of parents. By the way, in some Western countries there is an inherent tradition of giving an advertisement in a newspaper, announcing the impending engagement of two young people. Now it may well be practiced with us. Now about the celebration itself.
The triumph of love: the engagement buffet
It can be something grandiose, a celebration just slightly inferior in pomp to the wedding itself, or a feast in the circle of the closest relatives ... But, probably, the "golden mean" would be the ideal option, namely, a buffet table for relatives and most close friends.
Buffet - This is a modern, democratic reception with treats, usually consisting of snacks and drinks that are eaten and drunk while standing. In the appointed place, the house of the bride or the cozy cafe, your relatives will discuss the organization of the wedding, and your friends, from whom you will choose a witness and a witness, will be engaged in the distribution of their duties. And all this in a comfortable relaxed atmosphere. All the guests know each other, and there is no need to resort to the awkward structure of presenting them to each other. There is no need to invite distant relatives from other cities to the engagement party - it is enough to notify them about the wedding a month before it takes place.
If you wish, you can arrange a theme party - for example, in the Japanese style, with sake, sushi, and rolls. Dress not in a democratic cocktail dress, but in a dress styled as a kimono.
Garlands of flowers on the neck, T-shirts and sundresses with a tropical print on you and your guests, exotic cocktails in coconut "glasses" - perform a grind in sunny Jamaica, literally, without leaving your home.
Arrange within a single cafe or at home a small piece of paradise - please yourself, as well as your loved ones. Successes to you, love and all the best!