Oh the weather outside is frightful, but damn girl, that bling on your finger is so delightful!
It’s that time of year again, where everyone seems so much happier because of all the Christmas magic in the air. Where there is a ton of unnecessary additional caloric intake, obscene amounts of food, and never ending choices of dessert and… wait, what was that weight loss plan called again? That time of year with endless amounts of family time, cozy fires, gifts and why the hell do we have to go to their house again this year? Let's be honest, if the end of a Hallmark movie has taught us anything, it’s that just about every love story will end in an engagement!
With that said, I'm pretty sure we all know someone that knows someone that just got engaged or will be getting engaged this holiday season. If it's you, congratulations!! Many people ask me, what is the first thing I should do? My immediate answer, enjoy it! Seriously, at least through the holiday season, enjoy the fact that your best friend just asked you to be their husband/wife. Relish in the fact that you will never be alone during the holiday season. Stare at the sparkle that is coming off of your finger. The year ahead of planning will be stressful and overwhelming and a bit challenging. You and your fiancee will not necessarily see eye to eye on everything and fights will ensue. This is why it’s important to really let this special time have some significance. I feel like the engagement gets lost with all the planning and everyone just immediately jumps into it. Let it have meaning because it truly is the beginning of everything.
Show off your ring at all of the holiday parties, shove it in the face of your annoying ass cousins, aunts, grandparents or whomever constantly asked you "when are you getting engaged"? Celebrate New Years as an engaged couple with friends and family and just enjoy the damn moment. You can start marathon planning in January.
Hopefully you’re only engaged once in your life...fingers crossed, so take this time to really just have fun as you begin this new chapter together. I’m sure you will talk about it at every occasion you attend, so that can be a nice starting point to the planning process without actually planning. Gather ideas, hear people’s thoughts and opinions that you may or may not have asked for, but will get regardless. This is a good time to weed out what like and don't. This will give you a clear vision of how you see your wedding going down.
While you are enjoying just being engaged, here are some fun ideas you two can try on for size rather than jumping into wedding planning head first.
1. Sign up for a cooking class - food and romance are always a great combination, right? The dishes that you will create together will become a significant part of celebrating other events in your lifetime. Host a dinner party where you and your fiance recreate the meal you made together for your guests. Or it will make you realize that maybe you both don’t belong in the kitchen at the same time.
2. Start a new holiday tradition- bake cookies? Gift shopping together? Although, if you don’t typically do this, it can potentially be your first fight as an engaged couple...so that would be something new.
3. Write each other a love letter- Woah, What? Write? Yes, let’s bring it back to the old school days; where letters were handwritten, licked, sealed, and sent with the estimated time of 3-6 business days. Letters are a physical memory that will last a lifetime and could potentially help you with your vows. Write the things that you love about each other in this moment and wait to open them until after your married. Some married couples will even open letters like these after their first married fight...because sometimes we just need that little reminder.
Fun little tip for people that have not gotten engaged yet.
Before the actual proposal, share the news with family and friends and include them in an impromptu engagement celebration that night!
Pro: You can celebrate that evening with your closest friends and family. She will be thrilled to show off her latest finger accessory and can do it all at once.
Con: If she says no, that party will be so so awkward.
