The day before Easter, we had a beautiful engagement party at my house for my granddaughter, Isabelle, and her fiancé, Grayson.

 About 75 guests gathered for drinks and charcuterie, pizzas, and dancing from 5:00 p.m., on into the evening. A tent over the back terrace doubled the space for entertaining. A disc jockey situated at one end of the terrace provided cheerful, danceable music; no rap, thank goodness! 

Inside the house, the gleaming wood surface of the dining room table held two silver champagne coolers filled with gorgeous flowers. There was also a white ceramic vase in the shape of a rabbit, and it was filled with red roses in honor of Isabelle because she loves the color red. On the table were nibbles of vegetables and dip, chips and salsa, and cheese trays. In fact, the entire house, including the bathrooms and kitchen, was filled with flower arrangements done mostly by my daughter-in-law, Andrea. As the bride’s mother, she was in charge of making this lovely party “just right.”

 Dinner food came from the Blue Ridge Pizza truck parked on the lower level of the lawn near the house. Staff from the food truck placed pizzas and salad on a buffet table set out on the grass nearby. There were several tables, too, for seating the guests: two round ones seating 10 people each and one rectangular table for 8. They were covered with matching pale green tablecloths and adorned with arrangements of fresh flowers. The temperature was warm but very pleasant. The setting was bucolic and peaceful, with rolling fields and a partial view of a large pond, no houses in sight. Magical.

It was a perfect night. I feared it would be too warm because it had heated up in the daytime, but people came at five. It was cooler, and the high-ceilinged tent on the side of my house shaded that area. The guests dressed up. It was a pleasure to see so many well-dressed young people. The girls wore sundresses, pretty ones, and the men were in long pants and nice shirts, many in jackets. Everyone was in a festive mood, and it showed. You could feel the goodwill in the air around us. My granddaughters looked beautiful. My grandsons were handsome. They are all tall, both the girls and the boys. They all looked happy and healthy. It was a charming, fabulous party. There were not many older people, but it was a nice mix of ages from 83 to 14.

Of course, the young people have grown up. They’re in their 20s and 30s. Also attending were the parents of the groom and parents of the bride, the bride’s birth father, and I. All of my children were there with their husbands and wives. The entire ambiance was full of love, friendship, and acceptance.

We had lots of help for the party, so preparation was not difficult for me. Some wonderful local people came to help, as did Adela, who has helped me for so many years. Emelio, who used to work for my mother, came down from Washington, which is always fun for everyone in the family. We all associate him with a party. The bride-to-be had a special signature drink made out of something that I’ve never heard of before, Aperol Spritz, it was orange and pink in color. Aperol is some kind of liqueur. The drinks were refreshing but not too strong. Soft drinks, beer, and flavored water were plentiful. We locked the dogs up at the cottage next door, so they were not a problem.

The guests sat at tables and chairs in the yard below the terrace and ate pizza and salad. The evening was soft and fragrant, with fresh-cut grass, flowering trees, and bushes all around. All the beds and trees nearby were freshly mulched. The guests sauntered up to the house for dessert of delicious signature chocolates served on tiered cake stands. My large living/dining room was elegantly festooned with the flower arrangements in silver vases and pots of pink hydrangeas. The cousins were all so happy for Isabelle. The joyful anticipation of another wedding permeated the party vibe. 

All such happy parties are to be treasured and remembered. Not everyone is so lucky. Perhaps, one day, my grandchildren will look back on these family gatherings as being the very special events they are. So far, I know they realize that our family is especially good at keeping the gatherings fun and free from tension. Looking at it from my vantage point, I understand what a gift my grandparents-in-law and my mother and father-in-law gave me by showing me by example how to instill the same desire to get together in my children and grandchildren. Thus, we are making memories that will last long after I am gone, just as my wonderful in-laws helped us do for ourselves.

By 9:00 pm, everyone was nearly gone, and I was exhausted. But it was fun. I rested, with my feet up, sitting on a couch in the living room and chatting with two grandchildren who were spending the night in my house. 
It was 
a successful party to launch Isabelle and Grayson’s wedding year. They will be married a year from this week, in 2026. I can’t wait!

Copyright©. 2025 Bonnie B. Matheson