Engagement party, did you have one? Who did you invite?

MissE, no. Gifts are not obligatory at a wedding or an e-party. I said I wouldn't show up without a gift, and I know many others feel the same way, but a gift is never mandatory.

My parents threw an engagement party for us. It wasn't a big deal, mostly bridal party and our families, but it was a fun way to get everyone together before all of the "real" wedding stuff started.

What if you can't afford to give a wedding gift?

For the most part, I agree with the etiquette, and while you can't understand that people may not have funds to spare, I contemplated my guest list because while there were people I really wanted to invite, I didn't want them to feel uncomfortable if they couldn't afford a gift, especially if they weren't even coming.

The article also refers to as an "unspoken" obligation. If it's traditional etiquette, why not just say it? Unspoken things are left up to interpretation.

My point with my gift grabby comment is that no matter what etiquette says, or how people feel about e-gifts, I felt slightly uncomfortable that people spent so much money on me, especially when I had all of the other pre-wedding festivities. So, in hindsight, I wish I would have done things differently.

I'm having one two days after Christmas! My FH's family is throwing it for us. It's very relaxed, we only invited 50-60 people. There's a mini ceremony in the beginning, doing a photoshoot and the whole "save the date" pictures, and afterwards we're going bar hopping and throwing a mini house party. I wouldn't go all out..I know some people that have and they did a great job, but it would personally break our bank if we did that. If you're hoping people would bring gifts, try throwing it around NYE/Christmas time!

We had one about a month after we got engaged. My parents hosted it, we had an "I do BBQ" We invited just good friends, which was still over 30 people. We decided to do just friends since not all our groups of friends (his/mine) had met before.

We are a non-traditional traditional couple. Our wedding is out of state in Florida but we currently live in Washington, DC. We decided to have a party for our friends and few family members in the area, since the Florida wedding will be less than 90 people and the majority of the guests will be traveling from Jamaica, England, Italy, and Nigeria. This is the best for us since we still wanted to celebrate with our friends even though they wouldn't make it to Florida. We are hosting our own party, just like we are paying for the wedding ourselves, since we do not want to financially stress anyone. I'm sure most people will have an issue with it but everyone invited were appreciative that they were going to celebrate with us in some capacity. (Also, we are not asking for gifts at the engagement party.)