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Close Weddings

KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
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in Wedding Etiquette Forum

My boyfriend (28) is planning on popping the question in spring of this year. We've been going back and forth between elopement or a small wedding. Whenever we've discussed it, we always said we want to get married in the fall around October. I've discussed it with my family, and his family knows its coming (I'm on their family Christmas card, attended the holidays, etc.), but I haven't discussed it directly with them. It's made more difficult because my boyfriend and I are long distance (by 3 hours), and only see each other every other weekend right now. He'll move back in 6 months.

My FSIL (23) got engaged this past June. My FMIL had been saying that my FSIL would not be getting married until December 2018, as she and her husband are building my FSIL and FBIL's house right now, and wanted a break before planning a wedding.  My FSIL always seemed to be okay with that. However, at the end of November, my FSIL announced that they would be getting married December 2017. They moved quick and already have a venue booked and have printed save the dates.

My question is this: If we do decide to have a small wedding rather than elope, can I get married before his sister? She has been dating her FI longer, and they got engaged first. My boyfriend and I are both older, he already has a house, and we're ready to move forward. My FMIL will not have to plan or pay for the wedding, as my parents will cover that, but October is rather close to December.

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  • geebee908geebee908 member
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    Knotyettied said:

    My boyfriend (28) is planning on popping the question in spring of this year. We've been going back and forth between elopement or a small wedding. Whenever we've discussed it, we always said we want to get married in the fall around October. I've discussed it with my family, and his family knows its coming (I'm on their family Christmas card, attended the holidays, etc.), but I haven't discussed it directly with them. It's made more difficult because my boyfriend and I are long distance (by 3 hours), and only see each other every other weekend right now. He'll move back in 6 months.

    My FSIL (23) got engaged this past June. My FMIL had been saying that my FSIL would not be getting married until December 2018, as she and her husband are building my FSIL and FBIL's house right now, and wanted a break before planning a wedding.  My FSIL always seemed to be okay with that. However, at the end of November, my FSIL announced that they would be getting married December 2017. They moved quick and already have a venue booked and have printed save the dates.

    My question is this: If we do decide to have a small wedding rather than elope, can I get married before his sister? She has been dating her FI longer, and they got engaged first. My boyfriend and I are both older, he already has a house, and we're ready to move forward. My FMIL will not have to plan or pay for the wedding, as my parents will cover that, but October is rather close to December.

    As long as two weddings in close proximity time-wise won't be a burden to anyone you'd plan on inviting from his side, I'd stick to the timeline you've got right now. FSIL and her fiance get one day, and you and your fiance get one day; so, as long as they're not the same day and don't pose an undue burden on his family.
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  • thefanciestbecklerthefanciestbeckler member
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    Knotyettied said:

    My boyfriend (28) is planning on popping the question in spring of this year. We've been going back and forth between elopement or a small wedding. Whenever we've discussed it, we always said we want to get married in the fall around October. I've discussed it with my family, and his family knows its coming (I'm on their family Christmas card, attended the holidays, etc.), but I haven't discussed it directly with them. It's made more difficult because my boyfriend and I are long distance (by 3 hours), and only see each other every other weekend right now. He'll move back in 6 months.

    My FSIL (23) got engaged this past June. My FMIL had been saying that my FSIL would not be getting married until December 2018, as she and her husband are building my FSIL and FBIL's house right now, and wanted a break before planning a wedding.  My FSIL always seemed to be okay with that. However, at the end of November, my FSIL announced that they would be getting married December 2017. They moved quick and already have a venue booked and have printed save the dates.

    My question is this: If we do decide to have a small wedding rather than elope, can I get married before his sister? She has been dating her FI longer, and they got engaged first. My boyfriend and I are both older, he already has a house, and we're ready to move forward. My FMIL will not have to plan or pay for the wedding, as my parents will cover that, but October is rather close to December.


    Anybody can get married whenever they want. You get a day and she gets a day. There's no reason to plan your wedding date based on how close it is to someone else's.

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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
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    edited January 2017
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.
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  • Ro041Ro041 member
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    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.

    One couple's wedding timeline does not dictate another couple's.  With that being said, FSIL is young, so don't be shocked if she doesn't see it that way and gets upset.  

    As far as the bolded, I don't agree.  You won't have to explain or be embarassed to explain why an event that hadn't happened yet didn't happen.  Only an ass would say, "Didn't you say you were going to get engaged this spring??  Whatever happened to THAT?!"


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  • HelenahhandbasketHelenahhandbasket member
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    edited January 2017
    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.
    Get married whenever you like, but say no more about a future engagement to anyone.  


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  • redoryxredoryx member
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    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.
    When you say you want your parents to be financially prepared, what does that mean?
    image
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  • lovesclimbinglovesclimbing member
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    Ro041 said:
    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.

    One couple's wedding timeline does not dictate another couple's.  With that being said, FSIL is young, so don't be shocked if she doesn't see it that way and gets upset.  

    As far as the bolded, I don't agree.  You won't have to explain or be embarassed to explain why an event that hadn't happened yet didn't happen.  Only an ass would say, "Didn't you say you were going to get engaged this spring??  Whatever happened to THAT?!"

    Age has nothing to do with it. I know women younger than her who had "mixed up" timelines who didn't get upset. 23 is not that young. It's plenty old enough to handle this in a mature way. If she doesn't, it's not because of her age.  
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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
    Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited January 2017
    scribe95 said:
    If you are ready to move forward then do that. Get engaged now and start planning your wedding. Otherwise let it go and stop talking about it/planning it. 
    We're waiting until after his Professional Engineer's Exam and after my work goes live with their new health medical record system to become engaged. The PE is a huge test and expensive, and I'll be working 12 hour shifts with no PTO allowed until after our system go-live. Planning a wedding before then isn't possible. I'm in a weird place with us wanting to get married soon with a short engagement, and so wanting to have some idea of what we want, but at the same time not wanting to be obnoxious in deciding things without an official engagement.
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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
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    redoryx said:
    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.
    When you say you want your parents to be financially prepared, what does that mean?
    My parents have always said that they'd pay for my wedding. I'm 26, so I don't expect it, but they've said they want to do it. I didn't just want to spring that on them. They should be fine, and I've already insisted on a lower amount then the one they've proposed, but I thought it would be more considerate to let them know what's on the way.
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  • Ro041Ro041 member
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    lovesclimbing said:
    Ro041 said:
    Knotyettied said:
    Starmoon, I know you're totally right, which is another reason why I haven't broached this with his parents. I don't want to be presumptive. Right now all I have are what he's said about his plans. I'm glad I've spoken to my parents, because they saw it coming and asked about it, and I want them to be prepared for it (emotionally and financially). However, I have, in my excitement, talked about the future engagement and wedding with several people, and I do regret it. If he does not propose, I'll have a lot of explaining and embarrassment to go through.

    One couple's wedding timeline does not dictate another couple's.  With that being said, FSIL is young, so don't be shocked if she doesn't see it that way and gets upset.  

    As far as the bolded, I don't agree.  You won't have to explain or be embarassed to explain why an event that hadn't happened yet didn't happen.  Only an ass would say, "Didn't you say you were going to get engaged this spring??  Whatever happened to THAT?!"

    Age has nothing to do with it. I know women younger than her who had "mixed up" timelines who didn't get upset. 23 is not that young. It's plenty old enough to handle this in a mature way. If she doesn't, it's not because of her age.  
    Obviously my comment is not one-size-fits-all.  In my experience, younger brides can be the most idealistic about how things "should" be done.  That may not be your experience.  Also, I disagree and think 23 is young.  I am a much different person now than I was at 23 and a lot of it is because I have matured since then.  Your experience may vary and it's because not everyone is the same, which is why I used the word "if" and not "when".

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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
    Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment
    PrettyGirlLost said:
    There's no rule you have to get married within a year of getting engaged.
    True, but we want to get married within the year.
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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
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    southernbelle0915 said:
    You seem cool so I hope you stick around these boards. 

    So please don't take this the wrong way, but, in general, I never understand why "the ring" (if a male/female relationship, traditionally given male to female) has to be what makes people engaged. If y'all have agreed you want to marry each other, then that's all it really takes.

    insta-worthy photo/ring < two adults agreeing they'll get married

    It sounds like you've both agreed you're going to marry each other. Like to the point that you've already talked timelines and family politics and budgets. So ring or no ring, I would consider y'all engaged.

    Thank you, I appreciate that, and thank you for your encouraging posts. Tbh, it's my own insecurity probably. I'm one of those who never wants to overstep or make people feel uncomfortable. My SIL was a bridezilla, and I want to avoid that at all costs. I just need to relax and trust in my relationship and stop worrying about everything and everyone.
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  • KnotYetTiedKnotYetTied member
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    scribe95 said:
    I guess I have never understood putting things off in life until the "perfect" or right time. My husband took the PE exam too. He still lived his life. Being engaged doesn't mean you immediately spend everyday planning a wedding.  Get engaged or don't. But this in between we're-waiting-to-get-engaged-but-planning-a-wedding thing is odd. 

    I don't want to derail the thread, but did he do the prep course? It's not the PE so much as the every other weekend prep course that will take all of his time. He'll only have every other Sunday off without work or the course and some of that is travel time back to the site 3 hours away. And congratulations to your husband, that's a fantastic accomplishment!
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
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    Knotyettied said:
    southernbelle0915 said:
    You seem cool so I hope you stick around these boards. 

    So please don't take this the wrong way, but, in general, I never understand why "the ring" (if a male/female relationship, traditionally given male to female) has to be what makes people engaged. If y'all have agreed you want to marry each other, then that's all it really takes.

    insta-worthy photo/ring < two adults agreeing they'll get married

    It sounds like you've both agreed you're going to marry each other. Like to the point that you've already talked timelines and family politics and budgets. So ring or no ring, I would consider y'all engaged.

    Thank you, I appreciate that, and thank you for your encouraging posts. Tbh, it's my own insecurity probably. I'm one of those who never wants to overstep or make people feel uncomfortable. My SIL was a bridezilla, and I want to avoid that at all costs. I just need to relax and trust in my relationship and stop worrying about everything and everyone.
    Sure, I can understand that. Ain't nobody want to be a 'zilla. 

    I had a 14 month engagement and actually wish it had been longer. I LOVED being engaged. I liked saying "fiance" and getting free drinks at the bar and planning the wedding. I totally get it when people just want to get the thing done, but it's such a fun time. Everyone's different, but if I were you, why not just make it official and start the fun part. :) You can start planning the wedding whenever you want. 
    *********************************************************************************

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  • PrettyGirlLostPrettyGirlLost member
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    Knotyettied said:
    PrettyGirlLost said:
    There's no rule you have to get married within a year of getting engaged.
    True, but we want to get married within the year.
    Why?  This is a rhetorical question mainly for you to just contemplate.

    As PPs have said, you guys are engaged for all intents and purposes- you guys are committed to getting married, you are discussing this with family, you are discussing timelines with each other.  You know your BF is going to propose to you n the spring.

    Since the proposal is not going to be a surprise, it's a formality at this point, why wait until the spring?

    Or wait until the spring, but if life is very busy for you both related to your careers, why get married within a year of your formal engagement? 

    There are many advantages to having a longer engagement.  For instance, in my experience, most of the ceremony and reception venues book 1.5years-2years in advance anyways.

    Just some food for thought. . .

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


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  • charlotte989875charlotte989875 member
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    southernbelle0915 said:
    Knotyettied said:
    southernbelle0915 said:
    You seem cool so I hope you stick around these boards. 

    So please don't take this the wrong way, but, in general, I never understand why "the ring" (if a male/female relationship, traditionally given male to female) has to be what makes people engaged. If y'all have agreed you want to marry each other, then that's all it really takes.

    insta-worthy photo/ring < two adults agreeing they'll get married

    It sounds like you've both agreed you're going to marry each other. Like to the point that you've already talked timelines and family politics and budgets. So ring or no ring, I would consider y'all engaged.

    Thank you, I appreciate that, and thank you for your encouraging posts. Tbh, it's my own insecurity probably. I'm one of those who never wants to overstep or make people feel uncomfortable. My SIL was a bridezilla, and I want to avoid that at all costs. I just need to relax and trust in my relationship and stop worrying about everything and everyone.
    Sure, I can understand that. Ain't nobody want to be a 'zilla. 

    I had a 14 month engagement and actually wish it had been longer. I LOVED being engaged. I liked saying "fiance" and getting free drinks at the bar and planning the wedding. I totally get it when people just want to get the thing done, but it's such a fun time. Everyone's different, but if I were you, why not just make it official and start the fun part. :) You can start planning the wedding whenever you want. 
    This is so true, I was the exact opposite. I felt like being engaged was this weird in between time when we were together just like we always had been, but something was different; we were planning on being married, but we weren't yet. I wanted the whole planning thing to be over as quickly as possible! 

    I would also recommend to the OP to try and take a step back from worrying too much about overstepping or making people uncomfortable. What works for you and your partner might not work for other people, and that's okay. If having a ring and an "official" proposal/engagement is important to you (and it's totally fine if it is!) then slow down on the planning a bit. But, if it's not and you want to plan a wedding now because that's what works for you, that's good too. Also, if there is a particular time you want to get married (next December) you can get engaged anytime and still have it be under a year, but try to to set too much importance on "under a year/over a year" that's just arbitrary. I totally get wanting a shorter engagement, but if you're already planning now, I guess I don't see the point of waiting to "make it official". 

    Finally, my H and I were engaged two weeks after we finished our PhD's. He wanted to wait until the stress and craziness of dissertation writing (for both us) was over. I'm glad he did. We had talked about being engaged, we were moving across the country together (away from all our friends and family for a I job I had), so yah we were making life plans together. But we did want to celebrate the engagement too, so we waited until we had finished our degrees.
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  • PrettyGirlLostPrettyGirlLost member
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    charlotte989875 said:
    southernbelle0915 said:
    Knotyettied said:
    southernbelle0915 said:
    You seem cool so I hope you stick around these boards. 

    So please don't take this the wrong way, but, in general, I never understand why "the ring" (if a male/female relationship, traditionally given male to female) has to be what makes people engaged. If y'all have agreed you want to marry each other, then that's all it really takes.

    insta-worthy photo/ring < two adults agreeing they'll get married

    It sounds like you've both agreed you're going to marry each other. Like to the point that you've already talked timelines and family politics and budgets. So ring or no ring, I would consider y'all engaged.

    Thank you, I appreciate that, and thank you for your encouraging posts. Tbh, it's my own insecurity probably. I'm one of those who never wants to overstep or make people feel uncomfortable. My SIL was a bridezilla, and I want to avoid that at all costs. I just need to relax and trust in my relationship and stop worrying about everything and everyone.
    Sure, I can understand that. Ain't nobody want to be a 'zilla. 

    I had a 14 month engagement and actually wish it had been longer. I LOVED being engaged. I liked saying "fiance" and getting free drinks at the bar and planning the wedding. I totally get it when people just want to get the thing done, but it's such a fun time. Everyone's different, but if I were you, why not just make it official and start the fun part. :) You can start planning the wedding whenever you want. 
    This is so true, I was the exact opposite. I felt like being engaged was this weird in between time when we were together just like we always had been, but something was different; we were planning on being married, but we weren't yet. I wanted the whole planning thing to be over as quickly as possible! 

    I would also recommend to the OP to try and take a step back from worrying too much about overstepping or making people uncomfortable. What works for you and your partner might not work for other people, and that's okay. If having a ring and an "official" proposal/engagement is important to you (and it's totally fine if it is!) then slow down on the planning a bit. But, if it's not and you want to plan a wedding now because that's what works for you, that's good too. Also, if there is a particular time you want to get married (next December) you can get engaged anytime and still have it be under a year, but try to to set too much importance on "under a year/over a year" that's just arbitrary. I totally get wanting a shorter engagement, but if you're already planning now, I guess I don't see the point of waiting to "make it official". 

    Finally, my H and I were engaged two weeks after we finished our PhD's. He wanted to wait until the stress and craziness of dissertation writing (for both us) was over. I'm glad he did. We had talked about being engaged, we were moving across the country together (away from all our friends and family for a I job I had), so yah we were making life plans together. But we did want to celebrate the engagement too, so we waited until we had finished our degrees.
    This.

    I dated my DH for about 10years before we got engaged- we met in undergrad and then he went on to do a PhD in the natural sciences.  We wanted to wait to get married until he finished his program and got a job because weddings are $$$$$ AF- at least the kind we wanted to have, and grad students are broke AF. 

    When we got engaged it was a 2.5 year engagement so that we could get the venues, vendors, and date/time of year we wanted, so that we could save for the wedding and honeymoon, so that I could make the centerpieces, etc.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


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  • holyguacamole79holyguacamole79 member
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    FWIW, my husband & I were married 11 months after we first met.  We didn't have a timeline really set (we got engaged after 3 months of dating).  We had an 8 month engagement because we are Catholic and needed at least 6 months for marriage prep, which put us in the middle of the holidays.  So, we set our date for February.  

    We knew several couples who got engaged before we did and got married after we did.  One couple was waiting until summer (she's a teacher and wanted to get married during summer break).  Another couple was waiting until her (now) husband got back from serving overseas in the Army.  

    People are on different timetables.




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  • PrettyGirlLostPrettyGirlLost member
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    KahluaKoala said:
    thisismynickname said:
    Also, I don't think planning a wedding is that hard. If you're working 12 hour shifts, are you working that 7 days a week? No? Then you have a day or two off per week, hopefully. Your FI is prepping for a major exam? Also not something you do 24/7.
    When my DH and I were engaged, we were both working 40 hour weeks and attending grad school. We had plenty of time to plan a wedding. Even with a 1.5 year engagement, the actual time spent- could have made those decisions in less than a month. 
    There's a woman on these boards who cancelled all her plans and re-did her wedding in like, 3 weeks. 

    What you do is plan to plan. If you have a Saturday night both free coming up, you say, "Ok, we're going to go out to dinner and bring a notebook and think up our guest list." Some random Tuesday you both have free, schedule an hour to think up your first dance and do-not-play list. A Sunday morning you set aside an hour at a bakery to taste cakes. And so on. 

    Wedding planning is not nearly as time consuming as people make it out to be. Yeah we spend a lot of time thinking about it-- like thinking about a color scheme, or rustic versus elegant- but shit, I can do that between conference calls at work or as I lay in bed at night. Making the decision can be done over a meal. Placing orders with vendors is some e-mail exchanging and a few phone calls. NBD. 

    I mean, sure, but I don't really see what this has to do with OPs situation. In my opinion, she is effectively engaged, but has chosen not to announce that publicly or begin planning her wedding. We can tell her she's engaged all day, but she doesn't want to start her "engagement" until her BF proposes this spring. I don't see why we should all be trying to convince her to view her own situation differently. 

    Just because she COULD fit in wedding planning with her schedule doesn't mean she wants to. I could do a lot of things with my free time that I chose not to do. She's not asking for tips on how to fit in wedding planning, she's telling us she wants to wait until she and her FI have a clearer schedule before they begin.
    No one's trying to convince her to do anything, we're just offering outsider perspectives and alternatives . . .which is kind of the point of discussion boards.

    OP is the one who seems to be stressing about arbitrary timelines and who gets married when, and a lot of ppl on the boards seem to get hung up on "I must get married within 12 months of being engaged, I must have a ring and formal proposal to be engaged" etc.

    We're just pointing out it only has to be that way if you choose it to be that way.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


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  • SP29SP29 member
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    DH had my ring for a solid month before he proposed and he said it was burning a hole in his pocket! He wanted to propose sooner, but waited until I had finished all my exams for that term first, because he didn't want to distract me.

    So I get OP. Because I would've been distracted. So you do you here.

    But no, you don't need to wait until your FSIL gets married first. You each get one day. The only two situations I can see where you would consider her wedding date are if your ILs were paying for both weddings, or your BF had a lot of out of town family that would travel to both weddings. And those are considerations, not hard and fast rules.
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  • lyndausvilyndausvi mod
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    KnotYetTied said:
    scribe95 said:
    I guess I have never understood putting things off in life until the "perfect" or right time. My husband took the PE exam too. He still lived his life. Being engaged doesn't mean you immediately spend everyday planning a wedding.  Get engaged or don't. But this in between we're-waiting-to-get-engaged-but-planning-a-wedding thing is odd. 

    I don't want to derail the thread, but did he do the prep course? It's not the PE so much as the every other weekend prep course that will take all of his time. He'll only have every other Sunday off without work or the course and some of that is travel time back to the site 3 hours away. And congratulations to your husband, that's a fantastic accomplishment!
    My dad got his PE during a time where he worked full time (with some traveling involved),  was married and had 4 kids under the age of 6 (2 of them were twins under 2). Was it hard?  Yes, even though I was a kid I remember all the studying my dad had to do.  My mom had to pick up some of the slack while he worked/studied, but he still lived his life.


    I consider you engaged.  Planning a wedding doesn't have to be hard. It certainly doesn't have to take up the hours equivalent to having a 2nd job.  You can be engaged and not plan a wedding until the time is right.  The time can be right in a few days, weeks, months or for some people, years.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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  • AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    I don't understand the concept of knowing "he's planning to propose in the spring." If you know, and you're talking about it, aren't you're already engaged and he may as well just give you the ring so you can move on with planning?
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • mrose88mrose88 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    As most people have said, you do you on this one. There's no etiquette-based reason you shouldn't be able to get married two months before them.

    I also think it's totally fine for you to not consider yourselves officially engaged until he proposes. Like most people, my fiance and I had a conversation wherein we decided that we both wanted marriage. We discussed a general timeline (engaged "soon" and we prefer as short an engagement as possible), and decided that he should be the one to propose for a number of reasons. Then he proposed about four months later. He would have done it sooner, but I was incredibly stressed at work, putting in 10-14 hour days, seven days a week. It just didn't seem like the time, and he was right. He proposed without a ring, and that was the point at which we considered ourselves "officially" engaged. We announced and got a ring together a week or so later. Like I said, you do you. 

    On your original question, though: just be aware that getting married within two months of another family member may very well impact who attends your wedding. My first wedding (8 years ago) was five months after my sister's, and she announced her date well before me. Most of our extended family lives out of state, and many of them chose to only attend her wedding either because of cost or convenience. Now I am getting remarried about three months after my brother (he got engaged a couple weeks after me), so I've just resigned myself to the idea that history will be repeating itself. I'm not particularly close with my family, so for me that's totally fine. But, if it would bother you or your fiance, you may want to reconsider. 
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