HMOH tip #419: heard you got engaged

I once found an amazingly funny card that read something along the lines of, “I heard you got engaged” and the inside said, “Bitch.”  I swear I need to work for Hallmark.

With wedding season in full swing, it also means that engagements are all the rage (if I had a nickel for every engagement in the past few weeks ...) There was a time when they were more spaced out, but I’ve reached a point where years have passed and engagement news is what I like to call ... “Saturday.” Regardless, it’s very exciting to hear that a friend will be planning a wedding and it’s nice to be around them when they’re floating on Cloud 9.

 

Back when popping the question for my friends was a new thing - like paychecks, working with a hangover, utility bills and changing your Facebook status to "in a relationship" - the news was earth shattering; in a good way.  I’d imagine it’s like our parents claim they felt when JFK was assassinated, you will never forget where you were (I mean maybe you will, but I’m being dramatic here. Go with it).  When we learned that Missy had gotten engaged we were cruising in the back of an open Jeep Wrangler driving around LBI on the Jersey Shore.  We all started screaming and crying (fist pumping wasn’t invented yet).

Or, since Will’s first gift to Kelsey in college was a piece of wood signed by a “world renown Lumber Jill”* (questionable; he had to prove his worth before we allowed them to continue dating) … our first question after they got engaged was to confirm that he had remembered to get a diamond and not some Indian turquoise.  Missy and I had scoped out flights in case we needed to make the trip to Houston for a Ben & Jerry’s kind of weekend – but as expected (well, kind of) he pulled through and the ring sparkles.

Engagement parties may or may not follow the announcement and there’s also the bridal shower for gift gifting.  If you're like me - a registry is practical but nothing beats personal gifts.  For close friends (one you perhaps will be a MOH for) the following are great, thoughtful ways to send your best upon engagement news:

• Year subscription to Brides magazine - gets the Bride up on the newest trends, styles and how much this is going to cost
• Martha Stewart Keepsake Wedding Planning Binder - ringed binder to help organize (LOVE organization) the bride-to-be and get started on all the nitty gritty that comes with planning a wedding; includes plastic pages for business cards, clippings, etc.
• Family Labels – great for couples who cohabitate (with NYC rent it’s pretty much a given here); you’re able to personalize labels for the bride-to-be and groom.  So useful since they’ll be sending tons of thank you’s over the course of the next year. Check out their wedding ones here.
• and my favorite: Personalized pillows - I got Kelsey and Will this one here (below) from Etsy.com.  It was a little smaller than I would have liked, but I love the concept and it was all too *fitting for the engaged couple. 

 

-HMOH