When we got engaged, my fiancé and I decided that we wanted to host an engagement party - just a small affair at our house, to celebrate with both of our immediate families together. My family lives in a different state, so in nearly six years together, we've actually only gotten our families together once before. My parents were on board, found a weekend (about 2 months later) that they could come visit, and volunteered to help with hosting duties.
A week before the party, we found that my fiancé's mother would be out of town that weekend - not by design, it was a long standing plan, somehow we simply never realized the dates conflicted. So, we decided to call it off and reschedule as soon as we find another date that my parents can come visit. However, the same day that we made this connection and decided to postpone, we went out to a nice dinner with his (large) family, organized in advance by one of his sisters... And after dinner, they all presented us with engagement gifts, and the photos from the evening that one of his sisters posted on social media were captioned "happy engagement!"
I love my fiancé's family, and it was a wonderful evening... Which is why I feel like a terrible person, for feeling a little bit like my engagement-party thunder was stolen. I feel awkward about billing a future event as an "engagement party", because it feels like we already had one - that my family was excluded from. I know I'm being ridiculous, and that I sound ungrateful - I would never voice any of this with either of our families - but am I SO far off base just for having these thoughts? I mean, doesn't the bride's family typically have the first opportunity to host an engagement party, and then the groom's family can host another if they so choose?