50's Retro Engagement Party Ideas

When you get engaged, having a party is a great way to celebrate with your closest friends and family. Many times couples host a party and then announce at the party that they are engaged! Having a retro engagement party can be loads of fun. Pick a past decade and use popular items from that decade in all aspects of your party from food, to music to decorations. You and your guests can enjoy a blast to the past while giving everyone a night to remember!

When I think of the 50's I think of the days of poodle skirts, sock hops, soda shops, drive-ins, early days of rock n' roll, Elvis and the movie Grease. Here are some ideas on how to have a rockin' 50's themed engagement party.

• Invitations: Make your invitations look like vinyl records, jukeboxes or make them with using retro colors of the 50's like pink and turquoise.

• Attire: Have you guests dress in poodle skirts and ponytails, black leather jackets and slick back hair or cuffed jeans and white t-shirts.

• Music: Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, etc.

• Food: Serve your guests cheeseburgers and fries inside takeout or catering boxes with a bottles of Coke or make a family style meal with fried chicken or meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn

• Desserts: Root beer floats or homemade milkshakes

• Décor: There is so much you can do to decorate your space in a 50's theme. Vinyl records can be found at rummage sales for dirt-cheap or you can use cut outs that look like vinyl records that you purchase at a party store for decorations. Try hanging records from the ceiling or use them as plate chargers and other table and wall decorations. String several black circles together with letters on them that spell out "We're Engaged" or "Congratulations", to make a party banner that looks likes records. Decorate your tables with guitars, records, coke bottles, and other 50's iconic items. For a center pieces fill sundae glasses with flowers or balled up tissue paper in retro colors to look like scoops of ice cream and sprinkle the tops with glitter or confetti.

• Party favors: You can still find some retro candies from the 50's although you may have to place an order over the internet as they aren't found in typical drug stores these days. Fill little treat bags with some retro candies like Necco's, Lemon Heads, Boston Baked Beans or candy cigarettes.