The 2 Year Engagement - How do I not go crazy?

dcbride86

My fiance and I got engaged earlier this summer, and we are not getting married until May, 2015.  I'm about to start my 3rd year of law school, and want to wait until after the bar, which isn't until late July of next year.  Honestly, the idea of even going to a dress fitting while I'm studying for the Bar gives me hives, which means I don't want to do ANY wedding planning May-July of 2014... so 2015 it is.

My question is: how do I not go totally crazy with engagement excitement - 2 years is a long time to be over-the-moon excited.  I know the long engagement comes with benefits (we got our dream venue and the weather should be great in early May in DC, and I can take my time planning), but seriously - how do I not just go crazy over the next (almost) 2 years???

MayDay513

ssautter said:

My fiance and I got engaged earlier this summer, and we are not getting married until May, 2015.  I'm about to start my 3rd year of law school, and want to wait until after the bar, which isn't until late July of next year.  Honestly, the idea of even going to a dress fitting while I'm studying for the Bar gives me hives, which means I don't want to do ANY wedding planning May-July of 2014... so 2015 it is.

My question is: how do I not go totally crazy with engagement excitement - 2 years is a long time to be over-the-moon excited.  I know the long engagement comes with benefits (we got our dream venue and the weather should be great in early May in DC, and I can take my time planning), but seriously - how do I not just go crazy over the next (almost) 2 years???

Well if you have time, I suggest you linger on the boards. You'll learn a lot. Pinterest helps. Don't make promises you can't keep, refrain from picking your wedding party until about 6 months out, lots of things change relationally.

AddieCake

I had a 2-year engagement and never once went nuts. It's really not that long, honestly. Congrats and happy (eventual) planning!

ohmrs2014

We will have been engaged for 2 years and 10 months when we get married.  We loved that we were able to enjoy just being engaged for a few months before the planning began.  We were able to toss around ideas and figure out what we wanted in terms of the wedding itself.  We began planning at about 22 months out and its gone by so fast.  Trust me, the next year will fly by and before you know it you'll start planning.  But for now just enjoy this time!

HobokensFury

We had a 2 year engagement. Around her vendors book 2 years in advance so with booked the major stuff right away and planned all the little details afterwards.

ekessler424

We'll  be engaged for 2 years and 3 months by the time we get married in November, and I cannot believe it's almost here. 

I booked our venue and met with the church probably a month after we got engaged. Doing those two things sort of satiated me for awhile, our venue is kind of pricey but we knew we could do it in 2 years time. 

I used Pinterest a lot, only got a few actual ideas I'm using. Most of it was just fluff to satisfy my want to plan things.

Believe me, it goes by way faster than you imagine. You kind of get back into the humdrum of life and then BAM it's only a few months away!

Congratulations and happy planning!

Ajuliana

You have time to save and research! We will have a 1 year 9 month engagement and I'm having trouble because I waited 1 year out and photographers are booked! We booked the venue and church in December, 1.5 years early but we weren't the first to book either.

GypsyWife_

I'm with you. I got engaged in April . Will hopefully get married in june 2015. I don't have the time or funds for anything wedding related. So I want to make sure I learn on these forums how to do it right. I wasn't raised with proper etiquette so I'm thankfull for forums.

Dma361

We'll have a two year engagement when we get married in September. I just graduated and we wanted to wait until after that, so I'm in a similar boat. I can't believe we're only 7 weeks out now. It was kind of cool the way things came in stages and sort of renewed the excitement. First there was the newly engaged glow, then the setting a date glow. That would start to fade and we contacted the reception venue. Every time it was close enough to book something or decide on something, it got really exciting again, and we don't really have the stress now that most have 7 weeks out, because we're mostly done outside of a few small details. It goes by faster than you'd think. Congrats!

mmmiler346

Focus on passing the bar! You go girl! When you need a break from studying do a little planning. It will be a great break for you.

FutureMrsN3312

I got engaged March 2012 and we aren't getting married till May 2014.  At first I thought it was going to take forever to get here and I didn't want to wait.  But I'm glad we did.  Time has flown by and I don't know how we would have gotten everything done in a year.  With all this time I was really able to shop around for vendors and really get our moneys worth.

Like PP said, the excitement comes in stages.  For me it wasn't overwhelming or stressful.

Latillo

Congrats on your engagement! I am in the same boat. We just got engaged on July 11th after almost 7 years together. I am over the moon with excitement but not so excited about waiting 2 years We are in the process of buying a house and I am going back to school in the fall on top of the fact we have to save up money for the wedding! Keep us posted on the progress!! Good luck and I'm sure time with fly for both of us!

MPayne14

Congratulations! As someone who has been thinking about my wedding since I was very young and finally engaged (after 5 years of dating), 2 years seems like forever. But looking at my situation, I have a year of Grad school, I am so glad there is no pressure to try to pay for everything or stay up till midnight crafting decorations when I have school. Plus I think the two years will really give myself time to settle on what I really want vs what sounds fun or need a decision made right away, and I hope it works that way for you two. 

Being a lover of weddings and wedding planning, I have a wonderful opportunity to help a friend plan her wedding. I can dabble, look around, and be supportive without having to stress. I say embrace it! You're engaged and it should be fun! Don't feel bad if you do wind up looking or getting urges - it's like suppressing a craving for sweets and then breaking down and eating a whole cake lol. Have a great time. Yay 2015 brides!

sa9390

I'm in the same boat! We were engaged in December of 2012 and we are (hopefully) having a September 2015 wedding.. so I have closer to 3 years to wait! We have been dating for over six years. I agree with everyone who says it gives you time to think of what you really want.. we have changed our minds so many times! I'm glad that we have all of this time because if we were rushing the planning for a 2013 or 2014 wedding, I think we would have regretted many of the decisions we made. The waiting definitely isn't fun, but it is already flying by for me. 

I'm the one who's guilty, though, of getting too excited over "Say Yes to the Dress" episodes.. I went out to try on dresses (mainly for the fun of it, not really looking) and fell completely in love with a dress and couldn't leave without it. Now I have my dress and I still have two years to go! Luckily, I know that I made the right choice and I won't ever regret it but it's making me even more anxious. So advice from me: do what you can to avoid the urge to go dress shopping, if it happens to come up!

FutureMrandMrsKuspiel

I am in the same boat my fiancé just proposed to me on July 26th 2013 and we have discussed doing a two year engagement. I am in the same boat but when I think about it we will be saving up money to have what we want and not say oh no I cannot afford that because it's only a year away. I picked out my bridal party and asked them all everyone said yes. I am super excited just scared this is going to wear off and than ill be like now what but I heard its not bad. In the mean time I get to plan and pick what I want without rushing so everything will fall in to place least its not 3 or 4 years...we are making the right choice! congrats girl and good luck on the bar!!

cysan

So refreshing to hear I'm not the only one! Engaged on June 9th 2013 and every time I think about waiting so long my stomach cringes. But, unfortunately (and fortunately) this summer already flew by. We'll start setting more concrete plans for a late spring/summer wedding in 2015 come late fall.Something to look forward to through the chilly boring season! Congrats ladies and good luck!

tasha682

I am in the same boat! I just got engaged on Saturday and we are aiming for a spring 2015 wedding. That way we will have time to plan it right and save for exactly what we want. I feel like I already have the whole thing planned out in my head. I am hoping pinterest, the knot, and all the other sites keep me busy enough! 

SoontobMrsRaines

So glad I'm not the only we got engage July 4, 2013 and we just decided on a date we wanted something fun and a day to remember so the date is 5/10/15 lol! I love it. so we r 1yr and 8 months to go which is cool since we also decided to have a destination wedding so this works out perfect, time to save and take a few trips to see where we would like to have the wedding so I'm sure that will keep my mind busy

kelseyt22

I'm in the same boat.  Just got engaged August 1, 2013 and we're thinking about June 2015.  Honestly I wanted to wait longer because the idea of me having to plan everything out in such a short period of time makes me crazy.  I'm still having a hard time just enjoying being engaged because I want to get a jump start on planning.

jennmarie826

We got engaged July 27 of this year and have realized that we'd want either a fall or spring ceremony. We both said that next spring is too soon, and next fall we already have 3 weddings to attend! So that pushed it to spring 2015 and we thought we had it planned for 3/14/15 but unfortunately, the officiant of my childhood church (where the ceremony would be) informed us that the date is during lent and so, no weddings until after easter. We're now looking at May 2015 which seems so much further away! Even though its only a couple months later, I now feel like I really can't plan much of anything at this point. So, I've decided to use this time to figure out what we really want, save some funds, and really learn the best strategies for planning our dream wedding. Congrats girls and I'm sure we'll all be walking down the aisle before we realize it!

[Deleted User]

We just got engaged on July 27, 2013 and are hoping for a June 2015 wedding. I am in pharmacy school and won't be graduating until 2017, so that seemed like too long to wait. I'm just hoping I'll be able to juggle school and planning even though we have two years to do it all. I'm taking 19 credits this semester and 18 credits next semester so wedding planning is really on the bottom of my to-do list. I probably won't start really planning until next June.

nptnyc

I just got engaged and am starting grad school next week. My program has a required summer internship (for next summer) so we are therefore pushing the wedding to 2015. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one taking this route!

What are you all doing about registering? Are you registering soon or closer to 2015? Are you having an engagement party? I'm not sure what to do about either.

Looking forward to your responses!

WildMagelet

ejreidy said:

I just got engaged and am starting grad school next week. My program has a required summer internship (for next summer) so we are therefore pushing the wedding to 2015. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one taking this route!

What are you all doing about registering? Are you registering soon or closer to 2015? Are you having an engagement party? I'm not sure what to do about either.

Looking forward to your responses!

Engagement parties are purely optional and up to your friends & family to volunteer for.  Lots of people don't have them, regardless of how long their engagements are.

I would probably wait to register until closer to your date, or at least not until you have any showers thrown for you.  Lots of things you may register for now will not still be in stores by the time you get married.

Just sit back, enjoy grad school and enjoy being engaged for the time being!

LaVaH112

So glad to see so many 2 years out there. We want an Aug wedding, but with us both finishing school in Feb and May 2014 we felt August 2014 is too soon. I was feeling some type of way about it, but as each day goes by I find myself becoming more comfortable with our decision. I am having fun just looking at ideas, but no major planning is happening. I know we are hoping to book our venue in the next couple of months because they do book quickly!

[Deleted User]

if you don't want to start planning until next summer just try not to think about it and focus on studying for the bar

SP29

Also a 2 year (and 1 month) engagement here.

Likewise, I wanted to wait until I finished my school program and professional exams before having the wedding.

We started booking vendors (like the venue) 1 year out. 

Start your idea planning now- use it as a study break. But I agree to not make any hard and fast decisions just yet, as your ideas, budget, friends, etc may change. As you get closer you can slowly start ticking things off the list- which is great! You also have the time to look around at various vendors. 

Enjoy! And good luck on the bar!

fsc2010

This thread makes me feel so great, relieved and that I'm not alone! We just got engaged (August 25) but I'm in Graduate school until May 2015. We're planning on getting married July 2015. We just can't afford the wedding we would like to have and also want to wait till I'm done with grad school. I was worried I was alone out there! So glad to see other brides planning 2 years too! I'm excited now to take my time to get the venues I want and to shop around for deals!

sarahnate33

I am also in the same boat. I will have a bit longer than 2 year engagement. I am in my third year of professional school and won't be done till May 2015. I have my first part of boards in March 2014 and externships/ 2 more parts of boards all over in 2014 and 2015 so we decided to wait till October of 2015 for our wedding. 

Nikita2013

I just got engaged in July, and we aren't getting married until April 2017. I've been going a little crazy already just looking at things and wanting to plan but with our finanical situation and the fact that I'm in college doesn't help. But I've been trying really hard not to do any type of planning yet. My fiance thinks I'm going crazy of course because i'm always like oh babe look at this, oh babe look at that. I just can't wait to get school over with so Chris and I can plan our wedding. And of coure for you, it's going to go by fast, since you are in school as well just try to focus on that as much as possible. Before you know it, it's gonna be time to plan. Congradulations! and i hope this helps.

MadHops21

I got engaged this Labor Day and the wedding is 3 years away It gives us time to finish school and jobs and get a house later on, but it is so hard not to start planning since I've been dreaming of this since I was a little girl.

I do have moments where I consider just running to a courthouse and finally getting married! Then I think back to the plans I have already in mind and have to stop myself. I am incredibly impatient in general, so that's not helping. 

karlipregler

My FI and I will be engaged for almost 2 years by the time we are married, and I only have almost 5 months left until the big day! It is hard because you just want to be married and start a new chapter in your lives, but it definitely goes by fast! Just focus on getting through school and passing your exam. If you wanted you could always start doing some small things like making a guest list, or search on Pinterest for ideas. Just do your best to be patient!