Why be engaged?

amesposito

So, I'm recently engaged and getting married next summer because we planned the whole thing before we were officially engaged. 

 I'm looking for some help writing a research paper on being engaged in society today. Can you tell me why your engagements are the length that they are? 

Is it because you want people to be there and they need to save money?

Is there a certain date you set?

Are you waiting for money to come in?

redheadtmk

We got engaged March 14th this year and will be married June 23rd 2012. So about 3 months and a week.

 We will both be done with school and ready to move this summer. We do not want to live together before marriage. He wanted to be married before July because that is when he is stating he is available to work on all applications.

 I chose June 23rd because both of my sisters were married on that date. My younger sister had a private ceremony with just our parents in attendence and did not realize it was the same date as our older sisters. It was never a huge deal to me to have the same date but I always thought it would be nice if it worked out.

We will be married in a church. My mother, his parents, my sister &BIL, and ourselves are paying for the wedding.

No engagement party as we are still in school and everyone is poor and busy.

We are most likely going to have a brunch the next day so we can spend more time with our families together. Probably going to take my dad and step mom kayaking before they have to head home.

amesposito

No we planned it together.

princessro07

We got engaged in December 2011 and our wedding date is May 2013 (17 months?).  I graduate this May, so my FI thought that it'd be good for me to be on my own a bit before we got married (makes sense to me).  Initially my first thought then jumped to May 2013 because the job I have after graduation means that I absolutely cannot take off any time from January-mid-May and it's fairly stressful (welcome to working in the legislature).  However, talking later we discussed possibly doing it this October instead, because we're both ready to be married, lol!  However I made a pro/con list and May will just work out better because I'll be able to take more time off from work, it won't be mid-school year (he's going for his Ph.D.), we'll have more time to save up, more time to plan, it will make moving easier with apartment contracts, etc.  So, May 31, 2013 it is (pretty much the earliest weekend we could get married in May, lol).

Such as are you having an engagement party or parties? 

I don't think so.

Are you getting married in a church?

Yes, although to clarify our church only requires that you meet 6 months in advance.

Are you or your parents paying for the wedding?

My family is paying for the vast majority, though we're taking any spillover costs (about 1/8th the total, not including honeymoon).

Are you having a breakfast the dat after?

Unlikely.  Not something we've talked about, nor something I plan to do