I have my first engagement party on Saturday for one of my oldest and dearest friends. I'm so excited to celebrate her and her fiancé! It's at a local rooftop restaurant, one that I surprisingly never have been to. 


Because I've never been to an engagement party, I wasn't sure what to wear. I also wasn't too keen on buying a new dress because I have a bunch of dresses in my closet from other parties. 
After trying on only two different dresses, both black, I decided to wear a J.Crew dress that still had the tags on it. I bought it over a year ago because it was on sale and I figured I would be able to wear it sometime. I mean, it's a simple black dress with scallop accents. 

This is in blue but my dress is black!

*Before I even knew what dress I was going to wear, I had my shoes picked out and they are the SJP Collection Newsprint shoes -- more on those in another post!I think the key to an engagement party is to dress for the couple and the venue. I know this will be a slightly fancier event because we're a group that likes to look our best, but it won't be over the top because it's on a rooftop. 

Just remember to not outshine the bride to be and remember that it's not a wedding. My motto for any kind of party is "when in doubt, wear black". 

Even though I knew I wasn't buying a new dress, that didn't stop me from looking. These are my favorite dresses that would be perfect for an engagement party.

I'm going to be 25 years old in November but I have yet to hit that sweet spot where I'm getting five wedding invitations a month and going to two weddings a weekend. I attended my cousin's bridal shower and wedding last year but that's pretty much it.

A few of my sorority sisters have gotten engaged/married, but not anyone I'm super close too. That's fine with me because I'm in no rush to grow up and the sooner I can put off bridesmaids dresses and Bachelorette parties, the better!

On that note, my co-worker got engaged this summer (while she was on vacation in Japan!!!) and her festivities are starting. It's really exciting to hear about wedding planning and to actually personally know someone getting married.

Her engagement party is in a few weeks and truthfully, I have no idea what to do. Gifts? No clue what to get. Etiquette? No idea what to do. Outfit? Someone help me!

After talking it out with a few of my friends and other co-workers, it seems that for this occassion, simple is best.

But I also found this incredible style guide to help first time goers like me figure out what to wear to the wedding occassion of your choice.

Sometimes I think it's almost easier to be a dude because all you need is a tux or a suit, you just have to figure out which one is appropriate.

After all of this knowledge, I decided that I'm going with a simple, black J.Crew dress that still has the tags on it. I bought it at the beginning of the summer because I figured that I could always use a simple, black dress and I was right! (The one I have is out of stock, but here is a similar one)

Below are a few of my other picks for a Semi Formal Dressy Casual engagement party, bridal shower, wedding!

SaveSave