When you get engaged, the thoughts will immediately turn to planning the wedding. As soon as everyone has seen the engagement ring, they want to know when the wedding date will be. For some, they will have a date in mind straight away. For others, it can be less straightforward. For whatever reason, you might choose to have a long engagement. When you look online, it seems that the average engagement length is just over 13 months. But you might want to have more than that. There could be work, studying or family commitments that you need to bear in mind as to why you’d need a long engagement. But what about just wanting a long engagement anyway? There are many pros and cons to having a long engagement. So here are some of the positive reasons for having a longer engagement.
Taking Time to Plan
If you plan to get married two years or later down the line, then you have a lot more time to plan things out. You can take your time to plan your dream wedding. It might be less stressful if it is done this way too. You can plan out a proper timeline and not have to rush around for a few months close to the date. You can still let your guests know what the plan is, by sending out some save the date wedding cards. Then guests can make sure that they don’t have holidays booked during that time, for example.
Pick of the Bunch
Another benefit of a long engagement is that you will pretty much have your pick of locations. Most places will be booked around nine to twelve months in advance. If you are planning for a date that is two years in advance, you will more than likely have the first choice of date from your chosen location. It is also likely that you will get your first choice of caterers and photographer too. I have had a few friends want a specific photographer for their wedding, to find that they are already booked out. So you can put plans in place well in advance and get everything and everyone that you would like. So you are more likely to have your absolute dream wedding.
Enjoy Being Engaged
When you become engaged, it can start a lot of big questions, depending on your current circumstances. Will you move house or relocate? Will you need to move jobs or other life changing events? So as well as planning a wedding and honeymoon, it can be a busy time. You don’t need that added stress. So if you take your time, you can answer all of those kinds of questions, without panicking about getting it all done before the wedding. You can take your time and actually enjoy being engaged. Perhaps throw an engagement party to celebrate. That is a rare thing these days, as more people will be getting married sooner after getting engaged.
Time to Save Money
With all that comes with getting engaged and planning a wedding, it can take it’s toll on your bank balance. So having more time than average to save, will benefit you greatly. You can put more aside each month so that you won’t have to start married life in debt. Having more money to spend on the wedding can help eliminate stress levels. It eases the burden on family members too. You might have family that wants to contribute to the cost, but they won’t feel rushed to do so. It will mean that there is more time for them to put extra money aside too.
Is it for You?
So if you are thinking about setting a wedding date, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to have a long engagement. Think about your situation and it might even work better for you to do so. You won’t be rushed to pay for the wedding, and it can certainly help to ease the stress of wedding planning.
Do you know any people that have had a long engagement? I think that it is still important to set a date, though, even if it’s far off. If you don’t set a date, you will be more likely to put the wedding day off and off. Then it might never happen. So still get planning, even though it won’t be for a while. Just enjoy the journey of planning your wedding and most of all, enjoy the time being engaged to your love.