How to Prepare for Your Son or Daughter's Engagement

If your son or daughter has hinted at wanting to get engaged to his or her sweetheart, it may be happening sooner than you think. So what do you do if you're a parent of a future bride or groom and you want to get prepared for an upcoming engagement announcement? How should you respond and act if you think an engagement announcement is quickly coming? Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your son or daughter's engagement.

Photo by Sanaz Photography

1. Definitely don't push the announcement, try to pry for information, or start throwing out obvious hints. It's best to let the couple make the announcement on their own timeline. 2. If an engagement announcement is imminent and you believe you will be asked to help pay for the wedding, it's a good time to start looking at your finances and think about how you might budget for the wedding. 3. Try to be open about preparing an initial guest list. There are so many factors that will affect the final guest list, including the couple's desires, the wedding's location, your future in-laws, and the budget. Hold off on unofficially inviting any friends or family members until your son or daughter shows you the final list. 4. Avoid bombarding the couple with questions about their wedding plans or sharing your vision for their wedding. The beginning of an engagement can be very overwhelming, and well-meaning and excited families can often unintentionally cause the couple stress. So simply asking, "What can I do to help support you and celebrate right now?" is often a much-appreciated way to start. This post was originally published on Lover.ly on February 12, 2014. It was written by Erica Laudon of ModernWeddingMom.com. -- By Modern Wedding Mom

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