7 Ways to Announce Your Engagement

Issue an engagement announcement. A traditional way to announce your engagement is to publish an announcement in a local newspaper. An engagement announcement is usually issued on behalf of the bride's parents. However, you will still need to break the news to your closest family and friends yourself.

Use social media. We use social media to keep our friends and family updated about our lives, and your engagement is a really important and exciting update. More and more couples decide to announce their engagement via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Get creative with your engagement announcement and make an unusual photo that will catch everyone's attention. If you are out of ideas, use Pinterest for inspiration.

Send e-mails. Not all people check Facebook often, so there is a chance some of your friends will miss your announcement. If you need to inform many people as quickly and efficiently as possible, send them e-mails. Of course, you can call everyone to be absolutely sure they got the news, but phone calls will take a lot of time.

Create a website. Some tech-savvy couples put together custom websites and send a link to their friends and family to surprise them with the happy news. Neither you nor your fiancé(e) need to be a web developer to create a site, there are a lot of free website builders and blog platforms that allow to make a simple website using templates.

Send cards. Use good old mail to send your friends cards or handwritten notes to inform them about your engagement. If you are planning to have an engagement party, you can use mail to send fancy invitations.

Throw a surprise engagement party. Some people formally announce their engagement at the engagement party. If you want the announcement to be a surprise, you will need to come up with a cover story as an excuse to gather your friends and family in the same place at the same time.

Wait for a holiday. If you don't want to make a big deal of your announcement, wait for a holiday. Your family will be already together and your news will add to the festive atmosphere, but you won't have to stay in the spotlight for long.

You can announce your engagement any way you like, but you should keep in mind that your immediate family and closest friends deserve to be told such important news in person. Besides, it's fun to see their reactions! If they don't live within driving distance, calling or Skyping them is the next best thing.