24+ month engagement?

By the time i tie the knot it will have been a 3 year engagement we took our time, wanted plenty of time to plan so it wasnt as much stress... def dont ask anyone to be in your bridal party right now because alot can change in 2 years. As far as venues go i would start researching & deciding where & when because some venues get booked a year or 2 in advanced.

First of all, congrats on the engagement! I'm no expert, but a lot of people have been saying to wait until about 8-12 months before your wedding to pick bridesmaids and groomsmen since relationships can change. But it's always fun and exciting to plan so you should definitely brainstorm. You have plenty of time to really think things over and plan your dream wedding! Hope this helped.

I would take engagement photos now, and then in a year when you’re planning maybe (usually...) your photographer has a free engagement shoot in your photo package!

2 Years is not long at all, there’s nothing wrong with it. For me a year was plenty and now, I’m almost wishing we’d have more time. Not because I don’t want to marry FH! I just wish we had more time!

For a tip, I’m planning a wedding out of state, I had exactly 12 months (technically 13 but we booked a venue a month after we got engaged). We chose an all inclusive venue. So we have all of our vendors booked with the inclusive venue. We have the DJ, photographer, florist, cake, food, open bar, even invitations were included in our package. It helps so much and takes a lot of the stress from you. I’m only planning ONE weekend trip between the time i booked the venue, to my wedding day. I might make one more trip just to show my mom the venue since she hasn’t seen it, but other than that I only need to make one trip. The rest of the vendors are able to communicate via phone and email which is ten times easier for me with my schedule

I think it also depends on how old you are, if you are going go wait to have kids, etc.

My fiancé and I are having a 2 year and 3 month engagement and we really are enjoying the process! We looked at venues after 4 months and took engagement pictures after 7 months. We picked a date, made deposits, and now have all this time to try cakes pick outfits, etc. Enjoy the engagement, it's a lot of fun when not rushed.

Congratulations on your engagement!!!! A long engagement can really help relieve stress that might arise from a shorter engagement and don't worry how long it is. Do what is right for you two and your life together. In terms of an engagement party, the sooner the better. It's awkward to have one so far out since the point is to celebrate the fact that you are engage so it's better to do while still in that "honeymoon" phase of being engage. The photos, take them whenever. Guest list - start a running list, but don't make it official until a year out. Definitely look at venues ASAP as these go fast. Bridal party - save for a year out as dynamics can change. Having a long engagement can also help with it financially. You can make payments towards your vendors over time so it isn't overwhelming with you're paying more than a deposit on a house all at once. All big picture items can be done over the first year of the engagement and then get to the little details in the last 6-12 months. Good luck and enjoy the process, it does not need to be stressful!!!

My engagement was seven months and any longer would have driven me crazy. The longer your engagement is, the more time you have to obsess over unimportant details and change your mind, causing you to overspend.
Personally I'd plan something relatively simple and schedule it for summer when he's out of school. Although if he's doing a PhD his last couple years should be mostly research anyway, not too many classes to plan around (unless he's teaching). By relatively simple I mean, choose the three or four things most important to you and get things that are "good enough" for the rest, instead of trying to have the perfect everything.
I live a 6 hour drive from my hometown and did my wedding there. It was fine. 90% of my vendor communication was through text and email.

Congrats!!!
I got engaged 1/1/2018. Just wanted you to know 2020 is not too long. I plan on getting married some time next year while looking at places the places are already booked and vendors are booked a year out. It’s best to create a guest list now and look at venues now so you can have your special day happen when and where you want it to happen.

It's not too long. Ours will be a 22 month engagement from July 2016 to May 2018. We bought a house after we got engaged and didn't book the venue until Feb. 2017. Have fun and enjoy the planning process!

Congrats!!!!

Not too long at all! We will be engaged just shy of two years once we get married. It's much better to wait until the two of you are prepared than to rush it and add extra stress. I've also found that the long engagement has given us more time to plan and to spread out the cost a bit.

You can definitely come up with a preliminary guest list and budget and start looking into venues. Depending on where you live and where you decide to host the wedding, you might need to think about booking the venue soon. Our place books that far in advance.

It is a little soon to start asking people to be in the bridal party, but you can definitely start working on that guest list!

Also, congratulations!

Congratulations on your engagement! So exciting!!! My fiancé and I have been engaged since December 2015 and I started researching places right away. We were both in grad school at the time and I only just graduated last month and he finishes in May, so we were in similar situations. We looked at a couple venues in the last two years just to get an idea of how much weddings cost in our area. We found the venue we wanted in December 2016 but didn't put a deposit down on it until last week. It gave us time to look around, check out other venues in our area, and to be sure that it is what we really wanted.

We didn't do engagement pictures yet but I think you should do them whenever you want! We wanted to wait until it was closer so that we could use them for our save the dates and us not look like we did when we were 22 and right out of college.

I started our guest list right when we got engaged just to have an idea how many people to expect. It wasn't so much as a definitive guest list rather than okay I'm looking at 150 people vs 300 people. Just more so to have an idea, but expect it to change. Looking back there are definitely people on that first list that will not be attending now. A lot changes in two years.

As for your bridal party. I'm asking my bridesmaids now that I have my venue date set and am getting married next year. Its going to be my sister, my best friend of almost 20 years and one of my best friends from college. People say wait, but those three are people I know are not going anywhere. But I would definitely be cautious because as I've said a lot changes in two years and people you expect to be best friends with don't always stick around.

All in all, I loved having two years before I actually started REALLY planning, I was able to research everything and not be stressed out about it. I know how much money to expect to spend, I know which venues are more reasonably priced, I researched how much I should be spending on certain vendors in my area. It gave me a lot of time to do research that I wouldn't have had if we got married quicker. But it is tortureeee that our venue deposit is down, all I want to do is keep wedding planning but I know that 9/2019 is still so far away so I have to be reasonable!

But I am all for it! Wedding plan until your heart is content because it has been so much fun Good luck and congratulations again!

I was engaged for 2 years and 3 months. I liked the length of my engagement; I was able to get major vendors booked 14 to 16 months before my wedding date, and didn't stress over a single detail because I had so much time. The only reason my engagement was long is because I only wanted to get married in 2017 on my favorite number. 🙄

Going off of what @Stephanie wrote, Every person is different in that some may obsess over details and change their minds, and others won't, like I didn't. If you are decisive and know what you want getting big things confirmed quickly, and then waiting a 8months to a year before your date to get the little details nailed down is the way to go.
I think you should have your engagement party soon.
Engagement photos can be taken whenever you want, I didn't get engagement photos taken until 5.5 months before my wedding.
guest list: can be tentative for now based on your budget and how many that can host in venues you like and can afford.
Definitely start researching venues because some can book up 2 years in advance.
Wedding party-ask 8 to 10 months before your wedding .