Everything for the season
Christmas Proposals and Engagements: Your Holiday Guide
More couples get engaged between Thanksgiving and New Yearâs Day than at any other time of the year. If you are planning to ask, or you have just been asked, you are in good company.
This page gathers everything on Our Wedding Guide for the season in one place, in the order you will likely need it: asking the question, sharing the news, celebrating, and your first Christmas as a couple. Start wherever you are.
When Shannon and I got engaged in 1973, our local paper announced it under the headline âTheyâre Engaged.â It was a complete surprise to us. To this day I donât know how it got there, but we felt the whole town must know who we were. However you share your news, enjoy it. It only happens once.
Asking the question
The proposals people treasure are not the biggest ones. They are the ones that sound like the two of you. The holidays are busy, so a little planning keeps your moment from getting lost.
Christmas proposal ideas
Fifteen ways to ask this holiday season, including a twelve-day countdown that ends on Christmas Eve.
Plan the question
What to say when you propose
Over 30 ways to word the question, from heartfelt to playful, including Christmas proposal lines.
Find your words
New Yearâs Eve proposal ideas
Twelve ways to ask as the year turns, and why you should ask just before midnight, not at it.
Ask at the countdownSharing the news
Who to tell first, how to tell them, and what to do in the weeks after the yes.
How to share the news at Christmas
Who to tell first, a gingerbread house reveal from our family contest, and card wording you can use.
Announce your engagement
Just engaged? The first 30 days
Who to tell first, looking after the ring, the one conversation to have, and what can wait.
Start here after the yes
7 tips for engagement photos
How to get photos that look like you, with outfit ideas and fun props.
Plan your photosCelebrating together
A holiday engagement party can be as simple as hot cocoa with the people you love.
Christmas engagement party ideas
Sixteen ways to celebrate, with cozy drinks, easy bites and games.
Plan the party
10 Christmas party drinks
Festive drinks for your engagement party, with something for those who donât drink too.
Mix something festive
18 creative engagement party ideas
Surprise announcements, family games and celebrations for any time of year.
Explore all 18 ideasYour first Christmas as a couple
Your first Christmas together sets the pattern for years to come. Start a tradition or two that is all your own.
First Christmas traditions for couples
Twelve traditions to start together, plus our family gingerbread contest.
Start your own
Who do we buy for now?
My take on the gift list question every new couple faces at their first Christmas.
Read Davidâs Take
Christmas gifts for engaged couples
Twenty first-Christmas gifts they will keep and use, not tuck away in a closet.
Find a giftPlanning a Christmas or winter wedding?
A December wedding can be beautiful. Here is what to think about first, and how to make it warm.
A wedding on Christmas Day?
A parent wrote in about a Christmas Day wedding. Here is my honest answer.
Read Ask David
Winter wedding tablescapes
Candlelight, shimmer and a hot soup bar: tables that feel warm on the coldest day.
Set a winter table
Holiday self-care
Small rituals to keep you calm when wedding planning meets the holiday rush.
Take a breathPrintables for the season
Two printables from our shop that make a Christmas proposal easier. You print them at home.
Looking ahead to February? See Valentineâs Day proposals and ideas.