Married forumites: How long were you engaged before you got married?

Gloomendoom

6 - 12 months

You don't need a ring or even a formal proposal to get engaged. The engagement starts the moment you both agree that you want to marry each other.

badamsgirl

1 - 2 years

17 months. Enough time to plan everything without getting too stressed and save up for the important bits.

Faith177

2 - 3 years

As per my signature got engaged in Jan 2010 got married in April this year.

We wanted the wedding close to an important date for us. Our anniversary is in Nov but I felt it would be too cold for an outdoor ceremony then. OH was turning 30 on the 29/04 so we choose the closet Saturday.

Also by having it so far in advance it meant it gave us plenty of time to pay for it which was lucky as OH lost his job and was out of work for 6 months which put a HUGE dent in our savings.

*Louise*

10 - 15 years

11 Years

Mainly because after being engaged I wasn't all that bothered about actually getting married so didn't plan anything (I hate being the centre of attention) . After we had our kids and bought a bigger house he got a promotion at work which meant we had spare money so we decided to get married. It was only a small wedding with 40 guests but it was a lovely day and I'm glad we did it

Desperado99

5 - 10 years

5 1/2 years

We got engaged within a few months of meeting but we were both students (I was in my first year at uni). We always knew we wouldn't get married until we had finished our education and weren't relying on our parents to 'keep' us.

We got married the year after I graduated by which point we were both employed and supporting ourselves. The wait wasn't about paying for the wedding but about being financially independent of the rellies.

Birdie85

1 - 2 years

We were engaged for 2 years. We were thinking about getting married abroad so booked a holiday to the place we wanted our wedding in the October after getting engaged, after that we decided that we definitely wanted to go for it but wanted to get married in February. The following February was too short notice for both us and our guests to book and save up for so we opted for the following year. We'd have liked to have had a shorter engagement but the timing just didn't fit.

My brother was engaged for over 5 years and whenever he and his now wife were asked about the wedding they'd just say 'it'll happen at some point'. I didn't see the point in this as I always see an engagement as a commitment to marry, so to not have any actual plans to marry the person you're promised to seems odd? They eventually got married as they decided they were ready to start a family and wanted to be married first.

tea_lover

2 - 3 years

We waited just over 2 years but that was because we wanted to wait until we'd both graduated, nothing to do with money in itself.

It all went t*ts up v shortly after the wedding though so not sure if my vote counts lol.

pollypenny

2 - 3 years

Two years of saving like mad for a house and bed to sleep on, chairs to sit on etc.

Simple wedding in local church, with reception in the church hall. One glass of sherry allowed.

Those were the days. this was in 1967 and the norm where I came from.

onlyroz

6 - 12 months

Got engaged within 3 weeks of meeting and then got married a year later. The wedding was timed so that it would fall in the holiday between ending my undergrad degree and starting my postgrad degree.

MadDogWoman_2

Engaged 18 months, as chosen Church booked up. My parents paid for the wedding to it was to make it easier on them also.

Didn't want to wait any longer than that as would have been heading into the millennium price hike.