Announcing the Engagement to Your Parents

What an incredible point in your life - now that you are engaged, you and your fiancé are about to take the second step in that great adventure known as marriage (the first step in this journal was his getting up the nerve to pop the question in the first place). Planning a wedding is an incredibly happy and exciting time, but it can also be a very hectic time and put a lot of stress on both partners. One of the most awkward points in all the planning can often be "popping" the concept to the parents. Sometimes, they take it well and, at other times, they can react with a bit of a shock. Try following these hints for making those crucial announcements as smooth and trouble-free as possible:

In the past, it was common practice that the future groom go to the father, before ever popping the question to his intended, and ask her father if he could have her hand in marriage. Of course, this was back in the days of dowries, and times when women were treated much like property. In this modern world, however, a large number of women pick their husbands and then marry without even bothering to get their parents' blessing. Far too often, we overlook the feeling of pride and importance that such a gesture grants her father. If he seems to be the type of person who puts a lot of pride in traditions, or if he is very wary and over-protective of his daughter, holding to tradition and asking for her hand can win the groom extra points. This also allows the bride's father the opportunity to feel involved and tell the bride's mother of the news, as well as to announce it to his friends. Even if the would-be groom doesn't ask his future father-in-law for the bride's hand in marriage, the parents of both should still be among the first to know that there is a wedding on the horizon.