Mr. A and I got engaged over a year ago (February 15, 2009 to be exact). For the average bride, picking a wedding date would have involved a one-year engagement, which if we had gone that route, would have us getting married about now. But, I’ve always wanted a fall wedding, for a few reasons. Mostly because fall in the Midwest is G-ORGEOUS. The colors are fantastic (see: engagement photos).
Images courtesy of Lisa Hessel Photography
While we could have gotten married in Fall 2009, a 9 to 10 month engagement was too short for me.
I wanted some time to enjoy the engagement and time to plan without pulling my hair out (because I totes would have). The Mr. was game for what I wanted, so there were no complaints from him. The obvious decision? Wait until fall the following year (fall 2010). Not only did this give us time to really plan, it gave us time to enjoy our engagement, and get first pick on a lot of the vendors in town. Most places in St. Louis book up fast within a year. So, with a 17 month engagement, we had quite the lead time ahead of most engaged couples in the area.
I’m not gonna lie – it has been a long ride, but it’s one I have fully enjoyed. We’ve really had time to comb over any big decisions. And, I’ve had time to meet with our booked vendors on multiple occasions to get a lot of the details taken care of early on, all adding up to practically no stress.
Yes, we’ve had our highs and lows of wedding planning (and I’m not referring to goods and bads, arguments and make-ups. I’m talking being really busy at times and bored out of my mind at times). The entire process has been pretty bipolar (okay, mostly bipolar). We spend a few months really hashing out details and vendors, and then spend the next few doing absolutely nothing at all. It’s a bit confusing, but I would not change it for anything.
Was your engagement long or short? Were the seasons a factor in your decision to wait?
I know the feeling. By the time we are married, Mr. Library and I will have been engaged for 2.25 years. I’m ready to get married already!
I guess ours is a short engagement–8 months–and the factor there was graduation, leases up, and possible moving. Everything seemed to be coming together at the end of August, so we set our sights on early September. I’m kind of wishing for a long engagement now, though…your getting “first pick” sounds great now that I’m getting within the 5 month mark. :-/
Miss Arglye, we are on the same schedule! I got engaged in March 2009, and we are getting married this October. Whenever people ask about wedding planning, I always tell them how low-stress it has been. We also got to take our sweet time deciding on vendors, and have never felt any pressure to get things done NOW. It has been wonderful!
We had a 15 month engagement because I wanted my wedding in the fall too. But then the fall colors were really bad this past year and everything was still green in mid-October. The colors didn’t change much at all actually because of the snow we got in October. So all of our wedding pictures are green instead of fall colors.
we are in the midst of a 14 month engagement because we wanted our wedding in the fall. we got engaged in july 2009 and are getting married this september. i totally agree with you about the highs and lows. people will ask me all the time, “how’s the wedding planning going?” and i’m just like, “um.. slow right now. i haven’t done much” haha.. i was really excited when we first got engaged and we booked all of the vendors right away and pretty much mapped everything out. now it’s just a waiting game. 
I had the same thought process you as, Miss Argyle! We were engaged this past February and will be getting married Sept 2011 because I just can’t imagine not having a fall wedding!
By the time the wedding rolls around, Mr and I will have been engaged for 3 years, 9 months. I was going to law school and didn’t want to get married/plan a wedding during law school. Also, by waiting, we’ve been able to stay on our parents’ health insurance policies for way longer. Score!
We’re having a 16 month engagement because of family weddings. We got engaged last October and I REALLY wanted a fall wedding, which would have been perfect at about 1 year out. But, my brother was getting married in August and my FI’s mom was getting married in October, and I didn’t want our wedding to get lost in the shuffle, shoved in between anyone else’s. We thought about a December wedding but apparently thats pretty expensive because rooms are booked for holiday parties, and January was out because of my FI’s work schedule… so February 2011 it is!
We’re the same way…got engaged this past Christmas but I always wanted a spring or early summer wedding…so June 2011 it is! We both work full time, are in grad school part time and are planning the wedding 4 hours from where we live so the extra time is definitely necessary! I think people are waiting longer to get married…I was shocked that some dates for the venue we wanted were already booked a year and a half away
Ours was long (just under year and half) and I totally regret it! Ironically, for the same reasons you listed. We actually had problems finding a venue b/c it was TOO early they said, and they were hoping to book a larger party, so would not book our “smaller event”. Also, all the “down times” have caused us to get lazy and fall behind, so now we’re about a month away, and have SO much to do that we wanted to do six months ago, but people kept telling us “slow down, you have plenty of time.” and foolishly we listened.
I also wanted to get married in the Fall or winter (because it’s so cheap), but since we got engaged in January he felt that getting married that fall or winter was too soon, and I thought the following fall/winter was too far away, so we compromised on the following Spring. In hindsight I would have had the wedding that winter. We would have saved a ton of money, gotten everything done quickly, and most importantly we’d be married already! (Can you tell I’m a tad on edge w/ a wedding a month away and a TON of to-dos!?)
We ended up with a 16 month engagement (feb 19, 2009 to june 19, 2010). And I have mixed feelings. We booked things early, but there was so much time, that it gave things time to go wrong.. if that makes sense? Ideally, we would have done a fall wedding as well – but my FI is in school, so that would have meant delaying the honeymoon, and he did NOT want to do that, so we settled on August… but it turns out that there was really only one week in August that would give us enough time to have a one week honeymoon, and that weekend was booked at our hall…. so we moved it up to June.
I’ve still been stressed a good portion of the time, but maybe that’s just my personality? Only 2.5 months to go, and I’m very excited!
We were forced to have a long engagement. Well, either that or create a huge rift in my family since my sisters wedding date was exactly 1 year after the date we got engaged. So 1.5 years it was and while some things have been special about having a long engagement, I’m ready to get married already.
I was engaged in February of 2009 as well! And I’ll be getting married this September – so yep, a long engagement for me as well. I’ve enjoyed it mostly, but I think if I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have waited more than 12 months (but we faced the same decsions as you – we WANTED to be married in September and 7 months to plan just wasn’t enough).
We got engaged in July two years ago, and also wanted a fall wedding, so we obviously had to wait another year
I actually kind of regret it. I think long engagements are great for some, but by the time the wedding came around, I was seriously sick of it, and just wanted to get it over with (which is NOT a good attitude to have the weeks leading up to your wedding!). I always tell people I would have picked a spring/summer date if I could do the whole thing over again, and have a much shorter engagement. BUT, that’s just me.
I planned my wedding in 8 months, and wouldn’t recommend any longer of an engagement than 10 months to my friends, but we were also in a long distance relationship for our whole engagement (and previous to that) so there was a reason to keep things moving quickly!
I got engaged December 2009 and am getting married October 2011. I, too, wanted a fall wedding and October 2010 was booked, plus extended family was acting crazy! lol
We’ll be engaged for 8.5 months by the time our wedding rolls around and it will be in the Fall. Although Fall was not a requirement for me, I’m wondering if I should have at least waited until Spring of 2011 instead…
20 months for us! We get married this November so we have about 7 months left It has been great and I am so happy we decided to have a longer engagement for all the reasons you stated! And Fall in the Hudson Valley is gorgeous!
By the time we get married it will be 15 months. I have to admit I’m a tad quirky and didn’t want to get married in 2009. Something about odd numbered years. Yes, weird, I know. It’s been nice to have the extra time to plan and enjoy the engagement. However, there definitely are times I wish we could just be done with it already. Thank goodness there is only a month to go!
I got engaged on Feb 15, 2009, too! We got married in December 2009 though. Quickish engagement, but it was good for me.
Mrs. Argyle, St. Louis Age and Occupation: 24, Project Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Pilot Engagement Date: February 15, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2010 Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on Washington About Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
Latest Gallery Pics