I love decorating for parties, especially when they’re my own.
Now, it wasn’t a true engagement party. It was more of a small family gathering to introduce our parents – they had never met each other. We also wanted to make sure we were being safe since COVID is still a concern. We opened up our whole house to our guests and reorganized all our furniture to maximize space and seating.
Despite COVID, Pat and I wanted to make our family gathering as much like a true engagement party as possible. I got busy looking up party ideas and DIY-ing. I made a few things I was most proud of and wanted to share those with you today. Hopefully you can use some of these ideas in your own engagement or bridal shower!
“He Popped The Question” Popcorn Tub
During my daily Pinterest scour, I saw some parting gift ideas of popcorn in a bag with a label that said, “He popped the question.” I thought this was adorable and had an even better idea for my engagement party. I love caramel corn and bought a giant tub of it last year. I kept the empty tub because it’s huge and could potentially be used later on. For my engagement party, made my own caramel popcorn and placed it in my newly refreshed popcorn tub.
⇨ DIY the Look: I painted the lid and outside of the tub with metallic gold spray paint and white satin spray paint. From there, I lightly wrote my letters in pencil so I could erase without messing up my dried paint. You can also print out fonts you like and use transfer paper to transfer the outline to the tub. Once I was happy with my placements I went over the pencil with my black paint pen.
Wedding Predictions Game
What’s a party without a few games? Wedding Predictions is super simple and can be played in many ways. It’s just a series of questions you can have your guests answer all at once, or throughout your gathering. You can choose to read each out aloud for a good laugh or you can save them for the end of the night for a good post-party chuckle. I’m selling an updated version of the game on my Etsy page. You can purchase the game, here.
⇨ DIY the Look: I printed mine out on cardstock and cut each one to size. I already had an old small wood tray so I used it to house my paper. I used a flat bamboo stick to make my sign, but you could also use a skewer. Cut the top off two game sheets and hot glue them to the stick. I used white and teal ribbon (similar here) to tie and glue to the corners. The last step was hot gluing the stick to the inside of the box. Provide some pens or pencils and you’re ready!
Cupcake Toppers
Everywhere I looked, I saw the standard (and overdone) engagement party cupcake toppers – I wanted mine to be more original. You know what that means….I made my own! I am selling these on Etsy and you can purchase the template, here. I recommend printing these on cardstock to make sure the label has enough support once it’s glued to the toothpick.
⇨ DIY the Look: Keep in mind, you want to make sure you cut out each label so there is white space above the design. This is important because when you fold them, the design/label will be facing the right direction! I recommend using a paper cutter to ensure straight edges. Once you’ve cut and folded all your topper labels, take some hot glue and glue your toothpicks under the label, in the center. Carefully fold over the label and press to ensure a secure bond.
Frames
I thrifted frames from Goodwill for $3.99 each, although, I’m pretty sure they came from Dollar General. Oops. I wanted to have frames labeling where the food & drinks would be so I got DIY-ing. I pulled out my white spray paint, took out the glass in the frames, and started painting.
⇨ DIY the Look: Remove the glass and paint the bare frame(s). While the paint dries, clean the glass with glass cleaner. Your frames may require additional coats of paint. Once the frames were finished, I placed the glass back in and used a white chalk marker to write “food” and “drinks” on each. If you need scripting help, consider printing your words with a font you like, press it to the back of the glass, and trace it with the chalk marker! I also painted a wood block and glued it to the back of the completed frame to provide some extra security – I didn’t want it to fall over during the engagement party.
I’m so happy with how each of these turned out. The party was a big success and a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who came out to *safely* celebrate with us. I can’t wait to marry Pat!
Let me know if you decide to try out one of these or if you have other awesome party decor ideas!
