Life is good at the moment - fairly relaxed, seemingly calm and full of possibilities. I think by now most friends and families know about our engagement, thanks to the wonder that is text messaging, phone calls, emails, and let's not forget Facebook. Gone are the days of announcing an engagement the old fashioned way with special cards, I suppose. Although, speaking of cards, I do still love that idea. Cards are wonderful.
So... what next? To be frank, I have absolutely no idea. Of all the time I spent over the last few years being decidedly girly, and picturing Jason proposing, things never seemed to go any further than that. We're engaged! We're happy! We want to spend the rest of our lives together! Yay! Er, now what?
Well, I might have googled what comes next after engagement. And I may have gone and had myself registered on 'The Knot', if only to see what all the fuss was about. But, oh! The pressure! All it's done is make me incredibly puzzled. You see, from what I've gathered, most people tend to start planning for the wedding itself soon after being engaged. They have an idea of a date, they have an idea of a venue, and they can at least organise a few concrete plans, even if they are leaving the details to later.
Jason and I are different. To answer the question on seemingly everyone's lips, we haven't got a date in mind. We don't want to get married in London (as amazing as a countryside English wedding would be!) as we're too far away from family and friends, so that leaves us having the wedding at home in Australia. It's super expensive to fly home, so we've ruled out the idea of having a wedding during a 'trip' back home, where we would have the ceremony and then come back to London afterwards. It just seems too wasteful to do it that way - and who'd look after Oscar, after all?
So basically, we need to finish up what we've got going here in the UK and then head home for good, having the wedding sometime after that. We don't really have any intention of going home within the next year, because things are going well and we love it here - meaning a date could be in 2011? Maybe? I hope! Suffice it to say, that things will be very up in the air for a long while yet - so talk of actual wedding details seems far off in the distance.
For now, I'm trying to just enjoy this time of my life. I definitely can't wait to start planning the next step, but I'm also determined not to skip though the present step either. We're still comfortable here in London, and not ready to return to the 'real world' yet. But that doesn't mean I can't start looking for things I like, right?! And maybe watching the occasional wedding flick or Bridezillas episode?!
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13 comments:
I think this makes sense. There's nothing at all wrong with a long engagement and the headache of trying to plan a wedding in Australia from London sounds astronomical. Also, don't let The Knot get to you--they will be useful, someday, when you are ready to look at photos for inspiration and want a template for a to-do list. But that doesn't mean you need to dive headfirst into all the madness on that site!
Don't worry about it. When I got engaged, we did it with the intention of not getting married for two years. So, I did a little research online, but couldn't really do any actual planning/reserving until the event was less than a year away.
On the upside, all the research I did back at the beginning really paid off when it was time to begin the actual planning process. Knowing something about what was available, what things cost, and what I wanted made the whole process a lot less stressful.
Bridezillas is AWESOME. I love that show. It totally cracks me up! And after I was engaged, I went out and bought every bride magazine out there and spent an entire day watching wedding movies. I won't be engaged forever and I wanted to take advantage of every second I had! At this point, 7 and 1/2 months later, our house is filled with wedding magazines and my fiance is so tired of wedding movies and tv shows. I only have 1 and 1/2 months left! And now I am already looking forward to hearing about your upcoming wedding!!!
People were asking me if I had a date in mind when I was calling them to say I was engaged! Hello! I haven't had this ring on my finger for 24 hours, I don't have a date picked out yet! Dont feel pressured to start planning right away. I do suggest getting your date/venue set once you know what's going on, because everything kind of revolves around that.
I think there's nothing wrong with a long engagement. It makes for much less stress in the long run. And with the whole Aussies-living-in-London thing, it makes perfect sense!
I joined at the knot too and oh my god there are some crazies on there. Sometimes I think too much information is a bad thing - I'm feeling totally bombarded by all things wedding! I think it's kinda nice to have some time to plan and no pressure. :)
Yes, love it, ENJOY it. All of it. :)
Briiiidezilla! she's breathing FIRE..
Briiiidezilla! nothing can satisfyyy herrr!
I wish I could watch those shows with you!
And who's wedding is it anyway.. That was a mighty good show too.
I've officially passed the 2 1/2 year engagement mark, and I'm really not fussed! We had originally picked September 09 (bahahahaha - excuse me), and then September next year, but now we're back to having no date.
There's no rush! You know you're with the one you want to be with, and why rush it when you can have it exactly the way you want it, with your friends and family?
(I'm totally going to be one of those friends at your wedding, right? Because I wouldn't be surprised if you're married before me!)
right now i'm telling you to enjoy your engagement! enjoy it, enjoy it, enjoy it! matt and i have been engaged for almost four months and have almost no planning and i'm quite alright with that. just have some fun with it and yay for being engaged! i'm so excited for you and jason :)
Don't stress dear, my friends (who only just got married) were engaged for 3 years. So it's not uncommon to have a long engagement. AND probably a good idea to start planning once you're back in Oz cos you're going to want to see everything in person. :)
First Congratulations! Second, echoing Jess, there is nothing wrong with a long engagement. Just enjoy the time and all the special moments.
Well, obviously, I haven't dropped by for a while and so I have missed out on all the excitement! Congratulations to you both! What lovely news. I agree with you, waiting to get home and be with family and friends is more important than getting married quickly. Take your time and enjoy the engagement!
Gorgeous ring too.
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