tips for enjoying your engagement
Just take a quick scroll through your Instagram or Facebook feed from the past month and it becomes obvious pretty quickly: engagement season. So if you recently got engaged, Congratulations!! And if you recently got engaged, you've probably had 500 people already ask you when is your wedding, where will it be, and when are you having kids. Being engaged is such an exciting and monumental time in your relationship, and it's important to enjoy it, despite what everyone else wants to know. So today we're sharing some tips and ideas on how to truly savor the engagement phase without rushing through to the wedding day.Plan date nights, just because. It can be easy to get swept up into the minutia of everyday life or get so consumed with wedding planning that planning fun activities for now gets pushed to the wayside. Remember when you first started dating and every night out together seemed like a new adventure? Bring back those butterflies! Just like the beginning of a relationship, being engaged can have that same energy and newness. So take some time to schedule date nights like you would have early in the relationship: try that new restaurant you've been talking about, take a wine tasting class, go ice skating in the park. Get creative!Make a memory box of your proposal. Sure you probably have a million ring selfies on your phone already, but nothing beats the real mementos from the big day. Whether you use a shadow box that you can display or just something small you keep to yourself, save the ticket stub, note, and flowers that were a part of the proposal. Then whenever you need a little pick-me-up, just peek into the box for a reminder of the greatest day ever.Host an engagement party, but don't stress about it. The last part of that sentence is the important part. The point of the engagement party is to celebrate you guys, so don't let it become another thing to stress about. Keep it simple and casual - grab drinks with friends at your favorite neighborhood bar, host a build-your-own taco night. Whatever you do, make sure it's what you both want to do, not something you feel like you should do because of what other people say (unless someone offers to throw the party for you!).Take advantage of the perks! You just got engaged, it's okay to be excited about it! Feel out the situation obviously, but if it happens to come up in conversation with your server or hotel concierge, don't be shy. You'd be surprised how many places are willing to offer up free champagne, chocolate, or an upgrade (after all, you could be a prospective wedding client of theirs).Insure your ring. Okay so this one isn't so much about savoring your engagement, but it will definitely give you peace of mind. Insure it, ASAP. And, if it doesn't fit properly be sure to get it resized. It's not fun to part with your ring after you just got engaged while it's back at the jeweler, but it would be even worse for it to fly off if it's too big!Start brainstorming together about your ideal wedding. Now that you've planned some date nights, insured your ring, celebrated over free glasses of bubbly with friends, and are totally loving your new status as fiancée, start browsing and thinking about what kind of wedding you both envision. Keep the initial phase light and fun before you get down to the nitty gritty of budget and logistics. What type of vibe do you want your day to have? Rustic and casual? Glam and traditional? Simple and industrial? The world is your oyster right now, so let your imaginations run wild and have fun.