Engagements lasting longer than 1 year

kidlets2

For those of you who have or have had engagements that lasted over a year, at what point did you start actually doing wedding related activities? What did you do?

My wedding isn't until fall of 2013 and I'm getting really antsy. Maybe I should take up a new hobby??!

Anorton1204

I am getting married May 2013 and I am starting to venu shop dress shop and get an idea of pricing for a lot of things.  Dress shopping is more for finding out what i like in bridal/bridesmaid looks so that if I find exactly what I want I can purchase them.  My scenario is a little different because I live in Arizona and I am getting married in Minnesota so I need to get things locked in, in the few visits that I will be back there.  BUT I talked to a few of the venues that I am looking at and they said that they are basically booked from May to October of 2012 SO I figure getting that done early is a good thing. 

saintpaulJess

I got engaged last September and my wedding is next July, so a 22 month engagement.  I purposely wanted to get all my planning done early since I'm going back to school this fall.  I bought my wedding gown almost right away after getting engaged, booked my venue and photographer a couple months later, caterer a month or so after that, and now, almost 12 months from my wedding I have everything booked.

I found that I got 2010/2011 prices for a 2012 wedding, had my complete pick of vendors, and plenty of time to research different options.

So, to make a long story short, you can start planning whenever you want!  Start with general things, a tentative guest list and count so you know how large of a venue you need, think about the feel and look of your wedding, all that type of thing.  I think it's smart to get venue and photographer booked early since they only can do one wedding per day so they get booked up fast.

nycheryl

We will have been engaged 23 months when we get married.  I started dress shopping early, but I personally wouldn't recommend doing it that way.  I found myself in the "I wish I didn't buy this dress because this one is cuter" dilemma.  I never thought I was the kind of person who changed their mind a lot, but I definitely have throughout the planning process.

I think you can research/book your venues and caterer pretty early on, as PP said, so you can get exactly what you want.  It's also great to plan out your budget, guest list, etc. 

I'd save the details for a year out, so you're really sure you're pleased with everything you purchase.

SammanthaMae

You won't want too start early because TRUST ME, you will find yourself changing your mind on a lot of random little things (or maybe big things). We will have been engaged for..... uhm... 18 months when we get married, I probably started planning, thinking about general ideas at a year, but we did plan a day very early on, like most. I got the dress almost a year in advance, which I have yet to regret (besides the fact that I wish I could lose weight). But now, at 9 months, things are finally pulling together and it is starting to be go time. 

Basically, I wouldn't start earlier than a year Just me though. Enjoy being engaged. 

PoliceWife104

When we get married in September, we'll have been engaged for 5 years & 4 months!  (FI had to finish his law enforcement degree & all that jazz).

I agree with PP - Don't start to early, as you will see different things the closer you get & may want to change it.

We started planning in August of 2010 & it seems to be just the right amount of time.  Although, if we started a little earlier, we would have gotten some more choices for dates at our reception venue.

SSaltzman87

FI and I will have had a 2 year engagement by the time our June 2012 wedding comes around. I pretty much did anything WR from the moment I got engaged, lol. Finding a venue that met my criteria was by far my biggest challenge and am SO glad I got that done. It never hurts to start looking at things and making note of what you want, like and don't like. 

The advantage of having a long engagement is that you REALLY have time to figure out what you want, find the best deals and save up more money so you're not shelling it all out at once and not have the "wow, I'm broke" feeling.

MrsBassPlaya

FI and I will have been engaged for 23 months by the time our wedding rolls around Sept 2012.  We probably spent about 4 months just not doing anything except saving up money and setting a budget and guest list.  Then early this year we started booking vendors.  We book a vendor about every 2 months.  It gives us time to research and find the vendor we like.  I do recommend getting your ceremony and reception sites booked sooner rather than later.  Some locations can book up to 2 years in advance.

As far as details go, we haven't really decided anything yet.  Although, I recently decided to start back into school and will be taking a lot of classes between now and next August, so I'm really regretting not planning way ahead of time.

MaggieandJake

We were engaged for 15 months (engaged March '10, married June'11).  I booked our venues within the first month-and I'm glad I did, my top 3 choices for a venue were already booked when I called. I then did things in spurts.  Booked round of vendors 10 months out, got rings, assembled invitations 3 months out, and worked on DIY projects throughout the entire engagement.  However, I did do a lot of browsing gathering ideas etc in between actually "doing" things.  I think it was a good amount of time to spread things out and not feel too much pressure to getting everything done in time.  

I will also note that I planned my wedding form out of town and got a lot of things done at once on my trips home to Mpls. 

mbatzlaff

I got engaged May 2010 and didn't start planning until February when I attended a bridal show and got inspired. First I booked the venues and since I've been narrowing down vendors and working on some DIY stuff. We are getting married August 2012 so it will be more than 2 year engagement.

Dahlke&Kissell

By the time I am married, we will have had about a year and a half engagement. We decide to start right wawy to get the big things like reception, church, photographer, videographer, etc out of the way since they book up very fast!

Then we took a break during the spring due to school. No with a year left we are back getting little DIY projects and details done

Start WHENEVER! I found that I got a lot better details before companies raised prices for the new year.

Congratulations and good luck!!

FutureMrsSheeler

I started planning right away. I got engaged July of 2010 and am getting married May of 2012. My venue and photographer book up very quickly so I had to get those booked within weeks of getting engaged. You can start with your DIY projects, and book those vendors if you are excited about planning.

SuperRNluvsChef

FI and I got engaged in May 09.  We didn't officially set a date or book anything until January/February 2010.  It may have seemed early but we got top choice of every vendor we wanted! 

ShelbyGT21

We just got engaged June 2011, but are waiting till Dec 2013. Mostly to save money and it will be our 6 year anniversary on the day we say I do.

I already have a whole notebook of ideas and have been cutting ideas/inspiration out of bridal magazines. I pretty much know what I want for a dress, though I am waiting on that. We know what venue we want, just have to go there and book it. 

I already bought my guest book, program paper (I'm DIYing it) and my earrings. 

I pretty much have ideas of what we want for everything, it just involves a little waiting!

leggwilliams

My engagement will be exactly 2 years and 5 months (only 2 weeks to go!!!) and I pretty much started researching and compiling ideas right away. Take your time but I would definitely be a hypocrite if I said that you can't start in on stuff early. I booked our first vendor (PEC for reception) in August 2009 for my Sept 2011 wedding. As long as you've spent the time and research and you're positive that that's the thing you want (I spent months researching every vendor before making decisions and changed my mind several times throughout the process), I think it's never to early to book. You can save yourself a ton of money and stress later.

graysquirrel

We were engaged for about 17 months before getting married, but we didn't tell a whole lot of people till we were 13 mo out. I spent the first couple of months doing tons of research, especially on prices, locations, and dress styles. I knew that I wanted a Victorian theme, so I looked at tons of pictures to see what I could incorporate.

You have a lot of time, but I don't think that should stop you. The best thing that you can do is to figure out a tentative budget or at least find out what things cost. Research your arse off and you will find that you can get amazing deals and will be able to piece your dream together. And chat with us on TK! I got SO much good help from these ladies!