7 Creative Ways to Announce Your Clients’ Engagement
For couples who love the whole engagement experience, the standard phone call, email, or Facebook post announcing the big event just won’t cut it. Just like their wedding, they want their engagement announcement to reflect their unique love story and their individuality. As their wedding planner, you can help them make their announcement extra-special!
Think of the engagement announcement as the precursor to the wedding invitation—sometimes even to the save-the-date. Not sure what to suggest for your clients? Get your relationship off to an awesome start with these 7 creative engagement announcement ideas!
1. Let your pets speak for you
We all know people love their pets. Your clients might not want to invite their beloved pet to the wedding (if they do, that’s a whole new set of planning problems for you!) but they can definitely get them involved in the engagement.
Your clients can hang a sign around their pet’s neck or pose them next to the announcement. Styling of engagement shots like this can range from the casual to the carefully staged, depending on your clients’ style. Dogs might be the animal-of-choice in the engagement announcement world, but there’s no reason your clients can’t get their cat, guinea pig, bunny, canary, or python in on the surprise.
Once your clients have their shot, how they use it is up to them! Posted on social media, it makes a creative alternative to a simple shot of the ring. They could also get a little fancier by printing it out as an engagement announcement or save-the-date card for friends and family.
2. Proposal show-and-tell
Photobooths have always been a favorite with couples. Cute strips of photos + a little curtained privacy = a winning combination! Your clients can announce their engagement old-school by staging a DIY photobooth proposal shoot.
Get your clients to head to the nearest mall or set up their own “photobooth” at home. Restage the proposal (and the reaction!) over four photos, then arrange them in a square or strip for the full photobooth effect. Instead of just showing off the end result, this photo strip lets your clients’ friends and family live that proposal alongside them!
3. Make a show of it
If your clients are movie buffs, theatre fans, or music lovers, then this is the perfect engagement announcement! All they need is a camera, some basic photo editing skills, and a few lighthearted ideas.
For a real tribute to their favorite movie, musical, or album, your clients can recreate a poster or cover to announce their big news. Whether they go romantic (think The Notebook) or playful (think Mr. and Mrs. Smith), their announcement is sure to put a smile on their friends’ faces—even before the message sinks in.
Check out these seven incredible engagement posters for more ideas.
4. Tell your story
Timelines are a big wedding trend—so why not bring a little narrative to your engagement, too? Your clients can tell their friends and family the big news by recounting their love story. First meeting, first date, and first kiss are important milestones, but you don’t have to stick with tradition. Include dates for unique events that were extra important to your clients, like:
- Adopting a pet together
- First trip together
- Moving in together
- Pregnancy/first child together (for less traditional couples!)
And, of course, you don’t want to forget the engagement date! If your clients have already picked their wedding date, they can add it to the timeline to turn it into a save-the-date. Include photos or art, and share via social media or good old-fashioned snail mail!
5. Show off your crafty side
Has your groom-to-be been taking calligraphy classes? Does your bride-to-be love embroidery? Your clients can personalize a simple announcement by using their favorite arts-and-crafts to share it. Taking a photo of the finished creation lets them show it off to everyone—without all the hassle of recreating the whole craft for each friend and relative.
Not so crafty? Your clients can still find a way to work their hobbies and passions into their announcement. Spell it out in the snow for the client who loves to ski, or on a page of sheet music for the musician client. Bonus points if your clients’ activity-of-choice is something they love to do together!
6. Make a video
If your clients are planning on sharing their big announcement online, a video is the perfect way to do it. Clients looking to catch their friends completely off guard can set a sneaky custom thumbnail for their video and post it with a misleading description like “Cutest dog ever!” Once their friends click play, it’ll be a total shock to see your clients saying, “Surprise! We’re engaged!”
For a more romantic video announcement, your clients can collect video clips from throughout their relationship, ending off with a new clip sharing the news. The truly dedicated couple can make a stop-motion video sharing their love story or reenacting the proposal.
Pro Tip: As this stop-motion engagement announcement taught us, a big chalkboard is the best possible prop for this kind of project.
7. Throw an engagement party
Why not use your clients’ engagement party to announce their engagement? Your clients can get their closest friends and family together for a dinner party, cocktail evening, barbeque, or even just a night out at their favorite restaurant. Once the gang is gathered, your clients can share their news the old-fashioned way—in person!
Instagram shots and Facebook posts can be fun (and efficient!), but your clients will still want to tell their closest friends and relatives themselves. A party or get-together lets them share the news all at once, so they can avoid any awkward who-heard-it-first arguments.
