So you think you’re getting engaged without a party? Not on our watch. After working, celebrating, and living your whole life remotely this past year, you have definitely picked up quality Zoom partying skills without even realizing it. We’re here to help bring your engagement celebration ideas to life and plan an outdoor or virtual engagement party that you’ll cherish forever. After all, we know you had an impressive proposal in the works, and it’s only fitting to follow that up with an equally impressive celebration—even if it’s happening virtually.

The Best Engagement Party Evites

Create your Evites

The last step towards throwing a killer virtual engagement party is letting your guests know it’s happening in style—cue evites. Not only is using online invites a more sustainable alternative to printed paper cards, but it’s also easily customizable. There are endless websites with ready-made templates which you can use to make unique evites. Make a bonding activity out of creating and customizing your evites for the engagement party with your fiancé and use these tips to nail down the process.

Acknowledge the Situation

It sounds pretty cliché at this point, but we are living through unprecedented times. Address the elephant in the room and acknowledge the pandemic in the evite in a light-hearted manner to put people at ease. If you break the ice about the insanity of the situation, you’ll avoid the awkwardness and tension that may come through at the virtual engagement party.

Make your Agenda Clear

People have a tendency to be late. Yes, even if they’re just clicking on a button and joining a party online. So, to ensure your virtual engagement party runs smoothly, include an agenda as a separate page on the invite. This doesn’t have to be a meticulous list of activities planned down to the minute, but a rough outline to guide your guests through the evening of engagement celebrations.

Have Fun With it

Last but definitely not least, don’t forget to enjoy yourself throughout the process. Whether it’s creating the invites, planning the menu, choosing what to wear, or deciding what games to play, make sure to only do things that make you happy. After all, the whole point of hosting an outdoor or virtual engagement party is celebrating you and your fiancé. So, if you’re both happy and enjoying yourselves, the guests will follow your lead.

Zoom Engagement Party

Choose a Theme

Choosing a theme isn’t a necessary step, but it’s definitely fun. So bring your virtual engagement party guests closer by choosing a theme that ties the party together. The trick to choosing a fitting engagement party theme is finding something that represents you and your fiancé as a couple. Whether that’s a show, band, place, culture you share, or even just food you both love, choosing a theme can prove to be useful in all the following steps of planning a Zoom engagement party. Planning games, activities, decorations, and food automatically becomes easier.

Decorate your Space

A virtual engagement party is as visual as any party can get. Your Zoom guests will only be able to see one backdrop throughout the celebration, which is why decorating the space will set the mood.

If you chose to have a theme for your party, finding decorations that fit the idea only makes sense. However, if you’ve gone the more traditional route, you’ll still be able to find elegant and neutral engagement decorations that’ll zhuzh up your Zoom backdrop in the best way possible. To take it up a notch, mail small party props to your guests to use during the virtual celebration as well.

Set a Menu

Besides the theme, food is also a great way to have something in common with all your guests. Pick a local restaurant that offers takeaway and arrange your menu with them in advance—opt for dishes that can be enjoyed both hot and cold. Coordinate with your chosen restaurant so the meals are delivered to each residence by the time you plan to start the Zoom engagement party.

While you probably won’t be able to send individual slices of your engagement cake to every guest’s house, sending cupcakes is a heartwarming alternative that everyone will love.

Plan Activities and Games

Similar to the case of the outdoor engagement party, a virtual engagement needs activities and games to keep the momentum going. Use a Mr. and Mrs. questionnaire for fun quizzes relating to you as a couple and plan an activity with the help of Airbnb experiences. Plan games and activities that’ll engage your guests to avoid having the experience feel like a presentation.

Planning an Engagement Party for Socially Distanced Guests

Fine-tune your Guest List

The first and perhaps the hardest step is deciding who you’re not inviting to the party. Especially if you’re hosting an in-person celebration, this step is an absolute must. The fewer number of people you invite, the safer the environment is for everybody. 

Stick to inviting your close family and friends, as well as people with whom you absolutely want to share the moment with. To be on the safest possible side, have your guests take a COVID test before they come around for the engagement dinner.

Take it Outside

Unfortunately, there’s no space where you and your guests can be completely safe from the virus. But if you plan an outdoor engagement party, you’ll be drastically lowering the chances of anyone getting infected. Choose a venue that’s big enough to accommodate your guests within the required socially distanced measures. If your guest list is small enough, you can even host an intimate backyard engagement party.

Think About the Seating Arrangement

While the seating arrangement was once planned according to age and who’d get along with who best, we’re now changing our approach. Have those who live together and in the same circle sit together—try to maintain distance from those who haven’t had any contact with one another since the pandemic started. Keep the tables and chairs as distanced from each other as necessary. And don’t forget to offer sanitizers within reach of every guest at the engagement party.

Plan Socially Distant Activities 

You probably won’t be able to huddle up and dance together, but you can still incorporate fun outdoor engagement party ideas to liven up the celebration and keep everyone entertained. Think about ways to engage your guests without being too close to each other. Live music, videos of the soon-to-be-married couple, and quizzes are a few ways to keep the energy flowing and the party going.

Mind the Method in which the Food and Drinks Will be Served

Is it even a party without good food? Not for us, it isn’t! To satisfy everyone’s party food cravings sans infection risks, opt for pre-plated meals and stay away from shareable dishes. If you’re featuring bite-sized appetizers and snacks on the menu, make sure they’re plated and served to each guest separately at the engagement dinner, and all should run smoothly.