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We planned our engagement party for July. Now I know you’re probably thinking why on earth did we not celebrate right away? But as with life the timing just wasn’t right. So we opted to have our party in July, lots of couples just go out for drinks or a meal but we thought a party was another great way to celebrate. It wasn’t overly expensive either because we had it at home and not in a hired venue.
We were lucky because the weather was gorgeous and perfect for the BBQ we had planned. Considering how many people we invited our measly little BBQ just wasn’t going to cut it so off we went to B&Q and bought a lovely half barrel one.
Matt was in charge of the cooking and oh my, did he take it seriously!
He loved his new toy and had already picked where he wanted to put it in the garden.
We picked the date and sent out invites in May. A week or so before the party we started to iron out the finer details like the food. We had to work out when to cook the rest of the food like the homemade potato salad, tuna mayonnaise, sausage rolls etc. I had a neat little plan all set up with the timings so I’d be on top of everything. My mum helped me out too and made her famous cayenne pepper spiced rice – DELICIOUS.
I also decided to make the engagement cake as well as a few other sugary treats like my lemon fairy cakes. I love to bake BUT I’m not an expert and this was my 1st attempt at using ready to roll sugar paste. I had it in my mind that because I’d watched Cake Boss on TV it would be easy. Well I was completely wrong, it took AGES but I was super happy with the result. I ran out to the shops the morning of the party to get some fresh flowers to finish it off. So here’s my 2-tier Victoria sponge engagement cake (buttercream icing and raspberry jam yum yum). Hehe not bad for 1st attempt is it?
I will say cutting the cake was an event in itself. I had all the kiddies begging to have the 1st slice. One of my cousins children Sebastian was by far the funniest, he was making jokes and funny noises the whole time. We couldn’t keep a straight face hehe.
Now what kind of party would it be without some homemade Sangria?
Honestly ladies this stuff went down a treat, people simply couldn’t get enough of it. I made a massive amount and served it in a big punch bowl. The funny part is one glass and you were already merry it was that strong (thanks to the brandy I added hehe).
We decorated the house/garden with balloons and banners. I also bought some cute little engagement rings and stars to scatter on the food table.
On the day everyone had a great time.
Matt was like some kind of BBQ God, the men in my family went mad over the ribs he cooked and still talk about it now haha! Men and their tummies huh.
There was lots of running around on my party getting people drinks, chatting here and there but it was worth it. It was great to see everyone and me and Matt had a ball. I will say we sat on the couch just us two at about 11pm just staring at the wall. We were completely knackered but still managed to finish off the Sangria and Mummas special rice hehe.
When your time comes make sure you really celebrate being engaged. Don’t run head first into the wedding planning make sure you simply enjoy the engagement part.
Each step is part of the journey so try to make the most of every bit.
Good luck
B2Be
