This past September Brian and I gathered with family and friends to toast our engagement. It was such a fun evening, and we are beyond thankful to Brian’s parents for hosting the party! Everything from m&m’s with our faces and wedding date on them, to a sign welcoming guests as they arrived was so personalized!
Definitely saving these letters for wedding decorations!
Throughout the evening I tried to shuffle around, grabbing quick nibbles to eat while making sure I said hi and talked to everyone who came (training for the wedding reception.) However, every now and then I would stop, and take a step to the edge of the room to just take in the moment around me. This was really good advice I was recently given by previous brides as a way to capture mental snapshots, and even slow down time a little. One of the most special snapshots I’m holding onto from the evening was hearing my future father-in-law’s toast.
Cheers to the Scheerers! Brian’s parents and my parents toasting our engagement.
It was in the kitchen, and I was standing in almost the identical spot I stood in nine years ago when my fifteen-year-old self met Brian’s parents for the first time! They’ve redone the kitchen since then, with fresh paint, new counter tops and cabinets. Since that first meeting, I’ve even started calling them Mike and Barb rather than Dr. and Mrs. Scheerer. And WOW have I changed a lot, and Brian too. Still though, I remember that moment nine years ago. Who could have imagined that at fifteen I met my future in-laws!
Toasting our engagement, standing just feet from where I first met Brian’s parents at 15 years old.
What made the night even more special for Brian and I was getting to see a glimpse of what our own wedding reception will be like next year! Traditionally engagement parties are thrown to not only announce a couple’s marriage, but for different sides of the family, and for guests who have never met to mingle before the wedding. Our engagement party though, was more like a reunion of friends and family that have all known each other a long time.
It meant so much to me to have friends travel from different parts of Maryland, from D.C., Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, and Philadelphia to come and celebrate. We even gathered enough girls from my graduating class at St. Paul’s School for Girls to take a class of 2008 reunion picture! Speaking of St. Paul’s, Brian and I calculated that between both sides of our wedding party we have well over a 100 years combined of St. Paul’s history, and if we were to include family members in that we would have well over a 150 years combined of St. Paul’s history. If we went as far as to include guests I have no idea what number we would get to! Even Father Meck, who will be presiding over our ceremony, is a member of the St. Paul’s community and is currently chaplain of the boys’ Middle School.
So blessed for friends who traveled to celebrate!
This evening wasn’t just special because old friends were gathered together, but because we were able to start including those friends in our future. We set up a table with five different bottles of wine marked for future special occasions, along with paper and pencil for guests to write us notes. Each bottle of wine had a label and poem to show what future event it was meant for.
Cannot wait to open these bottles of wine and read the notes inside!
Guests were able to write us notes that were sentimental, sassy, ridiculous or cute for each event. The notes were then sealed and will only be read on that marked occasion with the bottle of wine. We included events such as first Valentine’s Day, One Year Anniversary, First House, First Child, and Five Year Anniversary. I didn’t peek, but I can only imagine the mixture of notes (and drawings) in there that we will get to read over the next several years from family and friends. I know there are some gems tucked in those boxes for sure. Just as I am sure I will feel on my wedding day, I didn’t want the party to end. If our wedding turns out to be anything at all like our engagement party (which I am sure it will be) I know it will be the best night ever!
