Long Engagement Advice?

Hi! My wedding is in September of 2018, so my engagement will be a little over a year and a half long. My advice is no matter how excited you are about your wedding, do NOT talk about it all the time to your friends/family! Wait for them to bring it up or ask you about it. No one is as excited about your wedding as you are, and I have learned that it may take a toll on a relationship if you talk about your wedding in a couple years too often. Congratulations on your engagement!

A long engagement is a luxury! Sign up for mailing lists and watch for deals. Join Facebook groups for brides selling second hand and keep an eye out for stuff you want. Figure out when stores you like have sales and plan around them. Start saving now. Have a guest list in mind for venue shopping purposes but don't invite anyone yet and don't ask your bridal party yet. (A lot can change between now and then!)

Yes to everything written above! Also feel free to pin your heart out and get an idea of the feel you would like but dont buy too much decor yet. Alot of people start buying stuff early then dont even use it when the day comes.

Start saving as soon as you are able. Buy little things here and there instead of a huge buy near the date. My engagement is going to be 4 years long when we finally get married. We had to push it back a year cause life happened after year one (his son needed surgery cause he broke his jaw after insurance ran out) so our wedding savings went to paying for that. If life does happen and you have to push it back it is ok to be bummed but don't fret too much cause it just means more time to plan and have the perfect day.

I'll be engaged for 2 years and 2 days once the day finally comes. Try to get your big vendors booked asap, you'll most likely get this years prices locked in (I got all 2016 prices). Definitely hold off on asking any wedding party members for quite some time. I would start getting ideas for decor and get dress inspiration. Everyone says to wait to dress shop. I picked my dress 15 months out and ordering it in another couple months and I will never change my mind. But I wouldn't look much sooner than that.

ETA: set a budget and do a rough draft guest list, this will probably change. Start looking up how much things will cost. Get a savings plan down and make sure you will be able to pay for everything.

Congratulations!

I got engaged end of August 2016 and I'm getting married early August 2018! My biggest advice is enjoy the time! I read something that "It's a special and exciting time that you only get to enjoy once!"

I've been looking for deals! I was able to book an incredible, highly rated DJ for less then usual because he was running a special! He also allows for payments whenever I have the money available so I can pay as I go! I was able to make payments with my venue as well! But I got 2016 pricing for my venue! And I'm able to look out for specials or deals!

Don't buy anything yet! You'll change your mind! I've changed my mind several times!

Save, save, save!

Don't make wedding planning your full time job.

Congratulations! Same story here - we decided to buy the house and get married the following year. Admittedly, there were times of frustration for waiting so long. Keep communication open with FH if you are feeling down. When this happened for me, FH and I talked over the decisions we made together and it brought me back to reality. Enjoy being giddy and engaged, and be present in life events, like becoming a homeowner. You and FH are already a family unit, the wedding is not the end goal, it is just a way to celebrate your union.

Thank you for all the great advice!

Our engagement will be a bit longer -- 18 months total, and it has been really great. we have been able to book vendors at a relatively leisurely pace and space out a lot of the wedding tasks so i have not felt overwhelmed. i feel like it has been an enjoyable process because i haven't had to rush anything. you also will get first choice in booking places! right now i would just start researching vendors that you are interested in, but you don't have to commit to anything right away.

I have been engaged for about seven months. We were planning to get married Sept 2018 but after searching venues, we changed the date to Jun 2019 to save up more money. Our engagement will be about 2 years.

Our engagement will be 2.5 years long. I agree with Pp's: don't spend every conversation talking about your wedding.

Long engagements help keep the stress levels down for sure. Hire the big vendors first like venue, photographer, videographer, DJ.. Take your time asking your wedding party and really figure out exactly what you want.

4 year engagement here (fiancé is a full time student & wanted to wait until after graduation)

CONS

* It can feel like some have forgotten about you are getting married/don’t ask about it much, etc. (But once you start getting into the nitty-gitty of planning/closer to the date - everyone gets excited again : )

* WAY too much time to research…everything :o Like Celia said above...don't make it your full-time job.

* Really limit what you purchase early on. You will likely not use it after all.

PROS

* You can have the wedding you’ve dreamt of (more time to save up)

* You have time to window shop/get a good idea what you want & then jump on it when a deal comes along.

* I did buy candelabras for centerpieces 1.5yrs ago. We bought our wedding rings last year & my wedding dress a year ago; but…I would look & come back to my favorite item repeatedly…those are the things I find you can buy ahead of time as you likely will not change your mind (no guarantees though. Note on the wedding dress…I plan on just remaining my current weight/no huge weight loss planned).

* Less stress as you have more time to work ahead of schedule on some wedding planning, DIY projects, etc.

I also created a wedding specific email address = no junk mail in my personal Inbox & can be deleted after the wedding : ) Start by figuring out your budget, then your guest list/venue...the rest, just find a good checklist & follow.

By the time we get married, it'll be 28 months. We have a mortgage, truck payment, etc and wanted time to save to have the wedding we want. Nothing wrong with waiting. We have started to use the app digit to help save on top of our other savings. We are saving everywhere lol. Good luck OP

We got engaged early 2015 and will be getting married October 2017... We had a baby late 2015... Surprise! But I liked not having to rush. I was finding ideas and buying things here and there throughout the year. Now all vendors are booked and dresses bought. I like to have things planned and stress free and so far it has been

Welcome and congratulations! Our engagement will be 20 months. Advise? Enjoy your engagement, but start planning early. It'll help save stress. I like having a longer engagement because you get first pick on all the best venues and vendors and it's reducing stress of being able to casually plan the wedding. It also gives more time to save.

Keep dating and loving each other!!