Notes From the Future "Mrs." - Announcing the Engagement

So here we are!!! This is a photo of Chris and I up in BEAUTIFUL northern Michigan last summer for our friend's wedding. The wedding was during Cherry Festival, hence the red dress. :)



OK, getting right down to business...announcing your engagement is a little bit trickier than I thought. Who do you call first? When do you call them? Believe it or not, I've received some 'angry texts' and 'angry phone calls' from people due to the fact that they did not receive a phone call immediately. And Chris (bless his heart) figured he would just wait for people to find out and call him. So right away I said, "THAT is the next blog topic I'll tackle." Seriously, any newly engaged couples out there, or soon-to-be engaged couples, you'll want to listen to the following very closely!

If you are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or any other social networking website...my personal suggestion is that you think about making those your LAST priority. I read not too long ago that The Knot's list of the Top 10 Wedding Trends for 2009 has 'Announcing Your Engagement on Facebook" as the #1 trend for this year. And you know what, I totally get it. It's exciting to get engaged. Plus you can't get more efficient than announcing it through social media. However, just be careful of WHEN you do it.

Here is what I would have done differently: I would had made ALL my important phone calls BEFORE I took the good news to the internet. I am guilty of this mistake, yes. I only got in touch with about half of my friends before going online. Now, if anyone knows me personally, they know I am THE WORST person at calling people. I hate the phone, I really do. So the idea of making 15 consecutive phone calls is enough to put me in the hospital. Still, I could have tried a little harder.

Obviously this is just personal advice. I know a handful of couples that have gone right to announcing online and it turned out pretty OK for them. Only you know your friends, so just think it over first and make that judgement call for yourself. But in order to not end up in my shoes, and to avoid hurt feelings, call (not text, texting doesn't cut it) everyone you are close to first. Remember, your family and friends love you and will really appreciate you showing them how much you want to share your exciting news with them directly!

Best of Luck!

~ Jill