Reasons to Consider a Longer Engagement
Gain more time to save up for your dream wedding bands. “Although having to postpone your wedding date may be a sensitive topic for those who are eager to celebrate their love by officially tying the knot, there can still be some advantages to having a longer engagement. One positive aspect to this difficult decision would be literally buying yourself some more time. By having a longer engagement, this allows you and your partner to save up a bit more money and allocate that towards your dream wedding band or bands budget. This will make exchanging your wedding bands an even more special and exciting time for whenever you are able to reschedule your ceremony.
Big diamond eternity bands are on high trend, and come with a big price tag. If it is your dream to stack your engagement ring with a chunky, diamond eternity band, a longer engagement will allow you to slowly but surely tuck away some extra money towards your overall budget. Stacking multiple bands is a sought-after look! Marking your original wedding date with one band can be a special way to honor a day that will forever hold a special place in your heart and adding another band on your new wedding day and top off your stacking bridal look!” - Kaeleigh Testwuide, Founder and owner of The Diamond Reserve
A longer engagement period means you’re not working on as tight of a timeline
You'll end up with surprising perks you might not have considered. “A longer engagement period means you’re not working on as tight of a timeline – no rash decisions! And you’ve got the ability to save for that fabulous upgrade you omitted for budgetary purposes. Plus, that person who was so important to attend your wedding but couldn’t travel is now able to. Let’s face it, anything worth waiting for is worth doing! Set a date that works for you and celebrate all of the great things achieved in your wedding planning process because of your extended engagement.” - Michelle’s Catering
A longer engagement allows for more time to find your perfect vendor team
“It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, so use the extra time to plan the best wedding of your life! Why wouldn’t you want to take your time and perfect your day?! Research details, vendors, design, food, cake ideas, etc. and find your ideal inspiration. Take the time to process the ideas and decide on what you really want. You may end up adding more wedding details, but at least you have more time to plan and save on the wedding of your dreams.” - AJ Williams, Founder & Creative Director, AJ Events
Set yourself up for a dream honeymoon. “With a longer engagement period, you’ll have more time to plan and save for your honeymoon, and as a bonus, you can add more vacation days!” - AJ Williams, Founder & Creative Director, AJ Events
Take the stress out of wedding planning. “Extra time means not only can you better organize your wedding details, you can take the time to organize your future relationship and establish your life goals. In the end, the more time you have to save on expenses, the more time you have to plan and decide on what your perfect day will look like, the more time you have to bond during this process, the less stressed you will be, and the more time you’ll enjoy being engaged and having that coveted fiancé title. If you’re worried about how to respond to people asking why you’re having a longer engagement, here’s a great response: ‘We wanted the time to best plan the perfect wedding experience for us and for our guests, plus I love being engaged!’ It works every time!” - AJ Williams, Founder & Creative Director, AJ Events
Use the extra time to think about post-wedding details.
“The post-wedding details you may have never had time to think about? Now's the time! While it's everyone's goal to have their wedding dress cleaned and preserved after their wedding, most brides don't actually think to do this until X years and the wedding dress has now yellowed! While it’s never too late to have your wedding dress cleaned and preserved, the sooner you send in your dress after your wedding, the less processing the delicate fabrics will need since stains and fabric yellowing haven’t had a chance to set in. Go ahead and order your cleaning and preservation now so that your kit is ready to ship out after your wedding day is over. Making it even easier, the Wedding Gown Preservation Kit's packaging and prepaid shipping labels to send your dress in for processing don’t expire, so you can order a year or more before your wedding even happens!” -TheWeddingGownPreservationKit.com
Strengthen your relationship. "The many uncertainties and emotions caused by COVID-19 present engaged couples with a unique opportunity to lean on each other for support, make difficult decisions as a unit, and work together as a team to navigate a truly unprecedented situation. This uniquely stressful process can ultimately strengthen the bond for those couples who successfully navigate it because they’ve become resilient together. My engaged clients who choose this path are entering marriage more connected than they may have been if they were engaged during “normal” life!
the pandemic is forcing couples to slow down and engage in wedding planning
While the pandemic has caused so much pain and disappointment, it has also forced engaged couples to clarify and prioritize their most cherished values, which for nearlyweds is a wonderful exercise in intentionality and collaboration. My engaged clients are slowing down a wedding planning process that often occurs on autopilot and conforms with larger wedding trends and traditions that may not reflect the couple’s priorities and values. Instead, these intentional couples reflect on and discuss what really matters to them in life, allowing them to compromise while planning a meaningful (albeit smaller!) wedding that represents and honors both partners’ priorities and values. In this way, the pandemic is forcing couples to slow down and engage in wedding planning with incredible heart and purpose." Elizabeth Wellington, MA, LPC, Psychotherapist & Founder of Kinship Collaborative
Time to take care of what started it all – the ring!
“Rocking a pricey diamond for the first time is quite daunting because most of us aren’t accustomed to wearing fine jewelry every day! The longer you are engaged, the more that engagement ring becomes a part of your every day life. Of course, the goal is to keep it sparkling and shining every day, but it’s easy to feel clueless about what products to use, and during a typical whirlwind engagement, those details can be skipped over!
The more you wear your engagement ring, the more you realize just how dirty and ultimately dull your stone gets without regular cleaning, think: dirt, grime, oils, and beauty buildup. If you’re not cleaning it, then you’re not doing the stone justice because it’s not living up to its bright, sparkling, and shiny potential. Luckily, with our Shinery line of jewelry care products, cleaning your ring doesn’t have to feel like a chore or a labor-intensive process. All of our products are safe on all metals and gemstones and easy to use every single day.” - Brea Fullerton, Founder + CEO, Shinery
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