Etiquette for Families of Newly Engaged Couples

Meeting the family… “Etiquette requires that within 24 hours after receiving the news of the engagement, the groom’s relatives should call on the bride and her family, welcoming her in the family. Later they should give a dinner, tea or dance in her honor, if the engagement is announced publicly…”

Question: Should the young man's relatives call upon his fiancée upon receiving news of his engagement? Answer: Etiquette requires that within 24 hours after receiving the news of the engagement, the groom’s relatives should call on the bride and her family, welcoming her in the family. Later they should give a dinner, tea or dance in her honor, if the engagement is announced publicly. If there is no public announcement, they entertain her in a more quiet fashion. 

Question: Is public announcement made when the engagement is to be long? Answer: This again is largely a matter of personal taste, but the announcement is often made to protect the couple from conjecture and gossip. – From Imperial Valley Press, 1931

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia