Reasons To Have A Long Engagement. The benefits of growth and wedding planning time during a long engagement. Allowing time for blending lives and traditions. The joy of taking your time before getting married. Why long engagement creates a stronger foundation for your marriage and patience in planning your wedding.
- Pro-Budget
- DIY Smartly
- Choose your guests wisely
- Get into more details
- Incorporate your personalities better
- Spend time with each other’s family
- Check our more honeymoon options
- Research Wisely
- You get to relax
If the idea of a long engagement has crossed your minds, you’re in for a delightful journey. Welcome to our guide on “Reasons to Have a Long Engagement,” where we celebrate the beauty of savoring each moment, one step at a time, on the path to forever.
In a world that often rushes, a long engagement is like a slow dance—a chance to relish the melody of your love story and create a foundation that stands the test of time. We’re here to explore the magic of taking it slow, understanding why a prolonged engagement might just be the secret ingredient to a wedding day that feels like a fairy tale.
A long wedding engagement is generally considered to be an engagement period lasting more than one year. However, the definition of a long engagement can vary depending on individual circumstances, cultural norms, and personal preferences.
Some couples may consider an engagement of one to two years to be long, while others may view anything over two years as an extended engagement. Ultimately, what constitutes a long engagement is subjective and depends on the unique circumstances and priorities of the couple.
We wanted to start by saying that there is no hard rule. It is your engagement and your marriage, you and your partner are the only ones that can decide on what works for you best. But, we are here to share pros that you can consider.
Reasons To Have A Long Engagement
1. Pro-Budget
Because you can spread out the decision-making (booking!) time (smartly!), you avoid impulse booking. You also have a longer time sourcing out budget sources and resources. Even after booking your vendors with a deposit or initial payment, you have a longer period of time to come up with the money and not use up all your resources right away.
Planning a wedding can be expensive, and a longer engagement allows you and your partner more time to save money and budget for your big day. It provides an opportunity to establish a realistic budget, explore cost-saving strategies, and avoid financial stress leading up to the wedding.
Wedding Budget Tracking Spreadsheet Download
2. DIY Smartly
Now that you have more time, you can work on your skills, do good research, and practice making better DIY projects without the extra stress of completing them in time for your wedding.
3. Choose your guests wisely
Over time, there will be most likely life changes, and you might develop new friendships, and some current friendships might also change over time. This long engagement will help you evaluate friendships and relationships better and most likely give you a chance to narrow down your guest lists.
4. Get into more details (Reasons To Have A Long Engagement)
You can now further break down tasks and get into more details. You can spend a little more time researching and having your vendors assist you in designing and details.
Popular wedding venues and vendors may book up quickly, especially during peak wedding seasons. A longer engagement increases the likelihood of securing the desired venues and vendors for the wedding day, as couples have more flexibility in their booking timeline.
Even if you are doing your DIY projects, you now have more time to go into the details and elevate your work!
5. Incorporate your personalities better
Having a long engagement will give you that extra time to spend more time together planning your wedding; you might discover sweet details and surprises about your partner!
PRO TIP: Go to classes together! Whether it be cooking, dance, art, or pretty much anything that will get your creativity and that bond going!
Now that you’ve got extra time to enjoy together, you can pick up details – like what dance you guys enjoyed the most together, what food you enjoy cooking, etc. You can incorporate many things you’ve learned about each other at your wedding, your gift registry, wedding design, food and catering ideas, etc.
Engagements are a time of personal growth and reflection for you and your partner as both of you prepare for marriage. A longer engagement also allows a chance to deepen the relationship, work through any challenges, and build a strong foundation for the future together. Have fun planning together with your partner!
You and your partner may choose to have a long engagement to focus on your careers or pursue further education before getting married. This allows both of you to achieve your professional or academic goals without the added pressure of planning a wedding at the same time.
6. Spend time with each other’s family (reasons to have a long engagement)
One of the reasons to have a long engagement is quality time. Through a long engagement, you will have more time to get to each other’s family better. If you want the wedding to be extra sentimental, you can also include details about each other’s family incorporated into your wedding, making them feel welcome and special!
Also, a long engagement can give you and your partner’s family time to adjust to the idea of the marriage, especially if there are cultural or religious considerations involved. It provides an opportunity for families to get to know each other better and build stronger relationships before the wedding.
7. Check out more honeymoon options
Long engagement gives you extra time to look at places and ask your travel consultant for better honeymoon deals! You get a chance to research more or have your consultant show you more options to explore!
8. Research Wisely
This goes without saying that you have extra time to do research. Researching does not just include finding the right vendor for your wedding but also spending that time researching the company’s longevity.
If you are getting married 2 years from now, check your vendor’s contract and see what will happen if they have to close down unexpectedly. Great vendors usually have friend-ors (vendor friends) in the same category they can refer you to. Usually, they have the same style and will not have a hard time executing your vision.
Booking your vendors 2 years out will also lock you into the price you have booked them. Depending on what and how things will change in the future (the best example is a pandemic!), some pricing and availability changes will change. But for the most part, the pricing you booked should stay the same through the 2 years. Check your contract to ensure this.
Establishing a relationship with a vendor that you have built trust with and have shown enough proof that they will be there to support you through your long engagement.
9. You get to relax
The sooner you get your theme locked, your guest lists finalized, your vendors booked, and all the other things decided on, the more you get to relax.
We wanted to note that since this is a long engagement is also a tempting ground to keep changing your mind -especially the more you get exposed to other weddings.
Even if it is a long engagement, still time your booking process wisely. For example, you can decide your date and your venue, as these are the 2 main things. Follow through with booking a caterer (if needed).
If you are 2 years out from your wedding, book your wedding flowers and decor 1 year out. This will give you enough time to explore and help you be firm with your decision when you are supposed to commit to it.
A longer engagement provides you and your partner with the opportunity to focus on your health and wellness leading up to the wedding. It allows time for fitness goals, healthy lifestyle changes, and stress management strategies to ensure you both look and feel your best on your wedding day.
