What It’s For

People will want to congratulate you, and, well, a party’s  a lot more fun than a phone call. It’s also a great time to introduce key people  from your lives who are going to be seeing a lot of each other (and possibly  working together) over the next nine months or so. “It’s really the first time  before the wedding when you have different groups of friends and generations  really getting to know each other in a much more intimate way,” says celebrity  wedding planner Jung Lee of Fete NY.

Who Hosts

Traditionally, the bride’s parents host the first official  celebration. Then, the groom’s parents can throw their own party, or maybe both  sets of parents will come together to cohost an event. But these days, more and  more couples are throwing the engagement party themselves (just keep in mind  that if you’re doing the inviting, it’s…