Oh, all right, they aren’t really rules, but a lot of people have ideas to share about the why and how of announcing your engagement and wedding.The opinions vary almost as much as wedding styles themselves. The one thing I’ve seen top most everyone’s list is if there are children from previous marriages, then they certainly should be the FIRST ones told. This is followed by parents with especial tact in handling and thinking ahead for those of us with divorced parents in less than amicable situations.

Here’s a great Q&A at theKnot.com. It covers all kinds of things from who to tell first, to rings for him, to how to tell the ex!

The A to Z of Manners & Etiquette has a good article even if I personally found it a bit formal.

If you want to run a newspaper announcement, some of them will run a basic announcement for free and charge you for photo announcement as well as anything custom. For example, see the information from my local paper, the Dallas Morning News, which lets you set up, pay for and submit online. Speaking of photos, I found this interesting little bit about picking the right picture at Photo.net.

The domestic diva, La Martha (Stewart, of course!), also has a wealth of information on everything from parties to printed announcements.

If it’s all a bit overwhelming and you’re just looking for a launching pad, try About.com’s straightforward approach.

Naturally, you could still skip all that rigmarole and settle for sticking your perfectly manicure hand in front of your gossipy friend’s nose and doing the icy flash dance while squealing. That works too…