Source: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock.com Getting engaged is an exciting time! One of the first questions many couples get asked after getting engaged is “When’s the wedding?” You might even be asked this before you and your partner have had a chance to discuss dates, budgets and all the other important parts of planning a wedding. If you’ve just gotten engaged, or you’re considering the next step but aren’t sure how long an engagement is supposed to last, here are some tips for you! What Is an Engagement? Many people know the history of wedding rings, but they don’t know too much about engagements. While most people recognize that today’s engagements are focused on taking the time to plan out a wedding and planning for the future, engagements of the past weren’t so similar. In fact, engagements of the past were more business-like than about love. These bridal contracts were used by families to ensure they each received something out of the union. Some engagements were planned while women were pregnant, others during seasons at court. While engagements of then were much more focused on money, security, possessions and lineage, engagements of today are more reliant on planning for a wedding ceremony and long-lasting future together. Find Your Perfect Ring What’s the Average Timeline of an Engagement? Engagements can last for various lengths of time. Some engagements only last for a few months, and others can last years. It all depends on a couples’ needs and accessibility. Plus, a reason for one couples’ speedy engagement can also be the same reason for another’s delay. Deployment in the military is one of the biggest examples of this. While some couples might head to the altar faster in order to handle power of attorney or other aspects, some couples might choose to wait so they can plan a bigger event with more of their friends and family in attendance. Budget, pregnancies and schooling are more examples of how one event might cause one couple to get married more quickly after getting engaged and others to wait a bit longer. Source: 4 PM Production/Shutterstock.com What Does a Long Engagement Mean? Long engagements aren’t necessarily a bad thing, just like a short engagement isn’t always good. Engagements can be extended for a variety of reasons. If you’re in the middle of a long engagement, don’t worry! If you feel like things could be moving forward more, talk with your fiancé. It’s important that you’re both on the same wavelength together, especially since you’re heading toward a lifetime together. Sometimes, long engagements happen because of budget. We’re proud to say that our rings here at QALO are affordable and made from the highest-quality silicone. Our wedding rings for women are popular alternatives for many of the more expensive wedding bands out there. When you can save thousands on a ring, that can help to speed up your engagement timeline. What Other Ways Can I Cut Costs in My Wedding Planning? Besides choosing alternative rings, such as our durable men’s wedding rings, you can reduce the number of guests, choose a wedding date during the winter months (also known as off-season), opt for a buffet instead of a plated dinner and even cut out the DJ and instead go for a curated custom playlist on a streaming service! These are just some of the most popular options; many couples simply work with vendors to find the best cost-efficient option. Source: Ruslan Huzau/Shutterstock.com One area where couples find themselves over budget is in how often they have to return things. We see this often with couples who buy one of our rings without using our handy ring size chart first. If you order the wrong ring size, then you either have to push your date back until you get your correctly sized rings back in, or you have to use the wrong sized rings in your ceremony. Either way, returning items because they didn't arrive the way you expected is just one of the many things that could cause your wedding to get delayed, your engagement prolonged and your budget to get blown. The Bottom Line Engagements aren’t something you move through overnight. While, sure, some couples choose to skip the engagement part and get hitched right away, the ones that opt for an engagement tend to take a bit of time to sort through what they want out of their wedding first. It can also be a good time to decide if you’re moving into a new space, taking a honeymoon or even saving for kids.