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OK, guess how many of the same card Mr Trail Mix and I received at our engagement party? Three, you might say? Four, eyes opening a little wider? Five, in shocked disbelief? Nope, no, and negatory.
I am impressed to announce that we received the same engagement card from EIGHT different people. Yes, you read that correctly, eight. How funny is that? I think it’s time for Hallmark to step up their game in the e-card department, eh? I’m not going to post the card because I don’t want anyone to feel badly in case they’re reading this, but it’s a very sweet engagement card. That we have now read 8 times.
So the next time you run off to buy an engagement card for someone, maybe skip the Hallmark section and try one of these:
Thanks to my Trail Mixa-licious FMIL, we recently celebrated our engagement with a brunch down in Miami, since that is where Mr TM is from. Even though a cold kept me from enjoying the Miami weather the day before, nothing could stop me from having fun at this party.
The party was seriously above and beyond anything I expected. I’d heard rumors of the awesome parties the Trail Mix In-Laws had thrown beforehand but had never actually witnessed one first-hand. However, I can truthfully say now that when the Trail Mixers throw a party, they throw a party! We celebrated at the Westview Country Club in North Miami with about 100 (!!) people in attendance and the talented Sue Chase of Chase Music and Entertainment made sure it was planned out in great detail and ran smoothly.
Although the space was beautiful on its own, we lucked out because there had been a wedding there the night before and the club let left the decorations up for us, so all the beautiful, white drapings were free!
Here’s a shot of the room, all set up, before guests started arriving. Tre gorgeous, no?
(Personal Photo)
After we got engaged, it was time to plan our civil ceremony, or our “Engagement Party” as we liked to refer to it. We had to get legally married to begin the immigration process, which we wanted to start ASAP. It was really important to us (or rather me) that we have a big and beautiful Catholic wedding, and it was just not possible to plan the type of wedding that I (we) wanted in a short amount of time. So, we decided to have a civil ceremony first, and then the wedding of my dreams at a later date. Also, we wanted to make sure that our first days and weeks as newlyweds were spent together, which would not have been possible if we didn’t have a civil marriage first. So, we got to planning!
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My parents threw us the first of our 2 engagement parties back in June, at their house upstate. Having two engagement parties is totally excessive, I fully admit. And I’m embarrassed to write that I’m partially to blame for it. Not thinking the FIL Trail Mixes were going throw us one, I badgered Mama TM into having a low-key BBQ at the family home, which turned into a 40-person+ extravaganza that was seriously amazing.
Of course, about a week later, the FILs offered to throw us an engagement party down in Miami, hence the fiesta double! As country and down-home as my parents’ soiree was, I had such a blast. The BBQ really made me feel good about our wedding choices so far, as I was reminded how I am always at my happiest when dirty besides a campfire after a day of drinking, eating and dancing. Here are a few shots, all taken on my camera.
Right before we embarked on a tubing adventure down the creek near my house, 3 friends and I decided to see if we could all fit into one inner tube. Turns out, we could. It was getting out that was difficult. 
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Way back in December of 2008, Mama and Daddy Frenchie threw Mr Frenchie and me an engagement party. The idea of the invite started with a picture taken by the very talented Jessica Claire at the wedding of my very good friend Tiffany Michelle. FH and I had been dating about 2 months when Tiffany married her awesome hubbers, Dan, and Jessica caught this shot of us laughing on the dance floor.
It has been my mother’s favorite photo ever since, and she wanted it incorporated into the invite. Here is what we came up with, and how we did it…
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Our great friends, Travis and Suzi, hosted a (non)shower dinner for us at their rustic country restaurant, the Heart in Hand, on Friday night. It was so lovely!!! There were about 30 people, and the fun part was that it was kind of like a neat run-up to the wedding. I gotta say, even with only 30 people, it was hard to get around to saying hello to everyone (given it was only two hours long, or so). To encourage mingling, Suzi scared up some name tags for all the guests… even for US!
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
It’s hard to explain to people outside our social circle how much we like to turn everyday events into costume parties. Seriously, people’s birthday celebrations turn into costumed events. So, when Mr. CC wanted to costume our rehearsal dinner, I wasn’t terribly surprised, but I was a little dismayed by the idea of asking our families to dress in costume. A friend of ours suggested a costumed engagement party of sorts, and offered to host it.
The theme was Love Throughout the Ages, and everyone was asked to dress as a famous romantic couple.
Mr. CC and I, given our propensity for military history, dressed in ’40s era attire.
Yuck, why is my face so super duper shiny?
Mr. CC’s attire is completely original. I’m wearing the Avian dress from Trashydiva.com
Our friends hosted the party in her parents’ historic home in Uptown.
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My wonderful bridesmaid Brittany threw Mr. Lab and me an amazing engagement party a few weeks ago. Another bridesmaid, Ashley, my MOH, Amanda, as well as some of Brittany’s roommates, helped out with the decorations and food setup. I could not believe how fabulous the party was. I expected just a few bottles of wine and some cheese (since I knew the guests were expected to bring either a bottle of wine or a block of cheese), but I had no idea that they would have so many delicious hors d’oeuvres as well! The girls really outdid themselves. They made me wonder if hiring a caterer for the reception is really necessary… 
Brittany started out by sending adorable Evites to the guests. Here’s the main banner of the invitation:
As I said, the food was absolutely amazing and yummy! There were mini burgers, mini strawberry cheesecakes, herbed potatoes with dip, fruit, and stuffed mushrooms. Brittany even went so far as to find napkins with a damask theme! How thoughtful is that?!?
Back in September we got an invitation in the mail. It wasn’t a huge surprise (I’d been asked to supply pictures for it!), but it was definitely a welcome one. Mr. Cowboy Boot’s parents decided to throw an engagement party for us. It was held on their five acres in Upstate New York in honor of our engagement in April 2008. It was also the (duh, Duh, DUH) meeting of the parents. Because Mr. CB and I had to drive around looking at venues for the first few days of our trip back East, Mom, Dad, and Brother CB arrived at FIL CBs’ house before we did! They had two days to get to know each other before we even made our entrance. I have to say, this was a pretty welcome thing on our part. We got to avoid the stressful event of trying to find common ground between everyone. Luckily, they did it on their own, and very naturally. Setting up the engagement party was a good icebreaker.
The Invitation from FIL Cowboy Boots
It May Sound Corny: Part I
It May Sound Corny: Part II
Unable to resist the chance for a food pun and homemade treat, I created yummy vanilla sugar favors.
Everything was coming together for our one-year countdown party. We tracked down all our RSVPs, wrote shopping lists, and rented the items necessary to make it a proper backyard bash.
Fast-forward to the afternoon of the party. I’m in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on one of our two desserts, when Daddy Bruschetta calls me outside. He’s already been joined by Mr. Bruschetta and Sister Bruschetta, each of whom is dubiously holding one of the poles that supposedly supports the rented 16-by-16 tent.
I’ll spare you all the boring details – which included one frustrating phone call to the rental company, begging for assistance, four (mine and Sister Bruschetta’s) severely bug-bitten legs, 60 minutes of high school mathematics (What’s 16 squared? The square root of 20?), and tape-measure verifying – that eventually led to the festive atmosphere we had hoped to achieve.
It may sound corny…
… but hosting a one-year countdown party proved to be a great way to
A) Introduce our families and friends to each other
B) Share some of our favorite summer recipes, AND
C) Try out some new treats for our guests
We cooked up the idea in the late spring, and it seemed like the perfect idea for a longer engagement like ours (21 months!).
The feel? Casual, backyard celebration. Not an engagement party; rather, a celebration of 365 days until our wedding!
The guests? Both our families and our close friends.
The cuisine? Well, now. Here, we were realistic. We ordered two hoagie trays, but committed to making three (huge!) side dishes, two desserts, and one appetizer.
With an event starting to take shape, I turned my focus to the invites.
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“The engagement party is the official celebration of your decision to spend the rest of your life with your fiance.” (from atoasttoyourwedding.com)
Our dear friends P & T threw us an unbelievable engagement party. We had the party quite a few months after we were engaged, but who’s counting? What matters is that we were surrounded by friends, family and love (and great food!). T is a chef extraordinaire and this night was no exception. She was flawless with her presentation and hostessing. If only I could be that calm and collected with all of those people in my house…
Exquisite food was enjoyed by all (T even made Mac-n-Cheese bites for me):
Brother Peep was tasked with toasting Mr.Peep and me at our engagement party. First off, my brother is a writer; second, he and his wife have been together for about 12 years and married for over six years, and they now have two of the most ridiculously cute kids ever, and third, he’s one of the best guys out there, and possibly the best dad EVER.
So to me, his advice is worth taking. Here’s his toast to us, word for word:
Okay, so I’ll admit it, I don’t know the secret to the perfect marriage. I don’t know if such a thing exists. Because I think if marriage was perfect, it wouldn’t be. I won’t waste your time philosophizing about the key to a successful marriage. For each couple that answer is their own. What I will offer are 10 bits of wisdom I have gleaned from my time as a husband and a Dad. That’s right, 10, because that’s what the marketing department came up with.
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After being engaged for over eight months, we finally let my sister and brother, along with their collective families, throw us an engagement party! It actually ended up being a celebratory weekend since both our families flew in from out of town.
Brother Peep picked out the invites from Wedding Paper Divas. They were perfect for a summer Engagement Party!!
We kicked off the weekend by hosting a dinner at our house; most of the family had yet to see our apartment (including my Dad) even though we had been living together for over a year.
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