There are so many exciting elements to being engaged. From the perfect proposal, to the sparkly new ring and the excitement of telling all your friends and loved ones. But pretty soon the annoying questions start to come in, and believe us, there are plenty.
“Tell us the proposal story” (for the millionth time)
We know you’ll be only delighted to tell the story of how it all happened, when, where, and everything in between, especially the first time. You’ll enjoy telling it just as much the second time. By the third time you’ll have it down to a tee. However, by the 60th time, it starts to get a little tedious, and by the 103rd time you’re really starting to hate people asking you. Haven’t you run out of friends and family by now?
“So have you set a date yet?”
Eh, no we just got engaged an hour ago. This one can be grating in lots of different ways. Even if you always wanted to just stay engaged long enough to plan the wedding, you might be surprised how quickly people want to know, and how quickly they expect a set in stone date when you haven’t even looked at venues. Multiply this annoyance by 100 when it comes to younger couples who want to enjoy being engaged and haven’t even started planning their wedding yet. ‘So when are you actually going to have the wedding?’ ‘Oh, I don’t know…2025?’
“Have you not booked your photographer yet?”
Well-meaning family and friends are not asking these questions to stress you out or annoy you, but they manage to do it all the same. Panicking you about having not booked your vendors early enough can annoy you and immediately send you into a panic about not having your dream wedding because you didn’t book your band two years in advance. The truth is, you should be organised with your vendors as early as you have a date set and can figure out your budget, but don’t let people stress you out about missing the boat.
“When are you going to give me grandchildren?”
A great one for parents and other family members. Real brides-to-be have admitted to being asked before they’ve even had the wedding (with some even being asked on the day) about when children are going to come into the equation. Chances are, the wedding on its own is probably all you can focus on right now without thinking about when you might start looking at expanding the family. Remember that sage advice about not making more than one big life change at a time?
“You’re engaged? Congrats! We should meet up for the first time in seven years.”
A common joy – and problem – when the engagement is announced, particularly with most announcements being made on social media at some point, is the resurrection of old acquaintances. Like we said, sometimes this can be lovely, and it’s always nice to receive congratulatory messages. However, when classmates from 15 years ago start suggesting you go for coffee for a catch up now that you’re engaged, it starts to get a little weird. ‘We had no reason to meet up before I got a ring, why now?’
- Jenny Darmody
Image credits: Engaged couple: Meg Courtney Photography via Belle the Magazine | Save the date: Not On The High Street | Flower girl and page boy: Ben McGee via Ruffled