Saturate your love
By Jo Phillips
6 ways to make the most of being engaged
The day you stop referring to your significant other as girlfriend or boyfriend and instead start to introduce them as your fiancée (or fiancé), is a life-changing one. The weeks after he gets down on one knee will feel like a whirlwind as friends, family and even strangers admire the rock on your finger and you recall the story that led up to you saying yes. But, in the months that follow you are likely to get so caught up in finding a venue and choosing the right dress, that it is easy to not stop and actually appreciate this special period of time in your lives. Although the wedding may seem a long way off, especially with so much to think about, plan and organise, it won’t be long before you are calling each other husband and wife. So, amid the chaos you need to make sure you actually get to enjoy being engaged. With this in mind, here are six ways to make the most of the time before you say ‘I do’:
1. Organise an engagement party
Your family and friends will want to celebrate the happy news with you and what better way to do it than with an engagement party. This doesn’t have to be loud and lavish, it could be a meal with your nearest and dearest or games and drinks at your house. Whatever you do it will make it feel far more real and start to build up the excitement, as you start the countdown.
2. Have an engagement photo shoot
Capture this time of your lives in a photo. This doesn’t have to be cheesy or over-the-top it can be simple, fun and reflect your personalities. You could always have the photos taken by your wedding photographer – the perfect opportunity to get some great snaps for the album and to make sure they know what you would like on the big day.
4. Do the planning together
It is easy for one person to take over the planning and more often than not this will be the bride. Be careful not to get carried away making plans with your mum or your bridesmaids – this isn’t their day. Of course, they will be the ones who take you to find a dress (it is bad luck for the groom-to-be to see it after all) but the rest of the decisions need to be made together. Put time aside, perhaps open a bottle of wine and get a takeaway, before you start to discuss every part of the day from the venue right down to the flowers.
4. A romantic weekend away
Mini moons are becoming increasingly popular – these are a short break you take after the wedding before the bigger holiday at a later date. Well, why not mix this up a bit and organise a romantic weekend away, during your engagement. While it is important to do the planning together, you also need to spend time together away from it where you can remember why you get engaged in the first place.
5. Choose the ring together
Whether you decide to go shopping in store or browsing a site such as Diamonds Factory, take some time out to spend together, finding the perfect wedding jewellery you’ll both wear forever more. So, a perfect way to make the most of your engagement is to spend some time looking at and trying on rings. Make a day of it and once you have chosen ‘the one’ treat yourself to a glass of bubbles.
6. Introduce each other properly
Change your status on Facebook and introduce each other in the right way. Boyfriend and girlfriend is now a thing of the past – you can only call each other fiancé(e) for so long – so make the most of it.
Remember your engagement isn’t just a countdown to the wedding, it is just as special as the period that came before and the one that will come after, so make sure you treat it as such and enjoy every moment.