Engagement vs bridal party

The bridal party is the group of people you have standing with you like bridesmaids and groomsmen. Do you mean bridal shower? Bridal shower generally means the bride is "showered" with gifts for the new married life. Engagement parties are simply a celebration of the engagement, hosted by family or close friends.

You should not host any of your own parties as it looks gift grabby, fyi.

Bridal is typically only females invited. Engagement party is both genders and everyone can party together. Makes it much more inclusive (especially if you don't know some of your FH's extended family or family friends)

Ditto on what Sass said!

Sass is right. Bridal party refers to the bride's side of the wedding party, the people who stand up with you like your maid of honor and bridesmaids.

An engagement party is a party in the couple's honor sometimes thrown by friends or family to celebrate the engagement. Like showers and other actual gift-giving parties, these should never, ever be hosted by the guest(s) of honor.

Engagement parties are typically coed. Wedding showers may be for the bride only (and are sometimes referred to as a lingerie shower,) or they may also be coed.

The bridal party are the people you ask to stand with you on your wedding, including you and your fiance. Are you talking about the bridal shower? This is usually thrown by a mother, bridesmaids, or co-workers for the bride a few months before the wedding. The guests of the bridal shower can be just close females to the bride (more traditional) or can be a "couples shower" where someone close throws the party for the couple and both genders are invited. Either way, those invited to the bridal shower should also be people on the wedding guest list (and the person hosting the bridal shower would ask for a guest list).

An engagement party is different. This is usually thrown the day after up to about a month after your engagement. Again anyone can throw this for you, and it can be super casual. But it's likely done WAY earlier in the engagement process, before you have anything booked or decided.

Hope that helps!

Traditionally, the bride's parents throw the engagement party, but not a bridal shower. After the bride's family has thrown an engagement party, the groom's family can throw one for their side of the family/friends provided that those people would be invited to the wedding. The rules are much more relaxed these days but traditionally, bridal showers are thrown by close friends of the bride, close friends of the bride's mother, an aunt or cousin, and/or the bride's church.