Getting Engaged Without Getting Married: Can You Do Such A Thing?

Time to take your relationship to the next level? Then you may be thinking of getting engaged: the ideal way to seal your love for each other, with a ring. But do you actually have to get married after that? Or can you get engaged without getting married? Find out here!

What exactly is an engagement?

‘Getting engaged’ is described in the dictionary as announcing an intended marriage. Which simply means telling all your friends, acquaintances and relatives that you are planning to get married. Often an engagement is associated with wearing a ring, which symbolises your engagement.

The next step

Your partner has said the magic word. You’re probably on cloud nine. Can’t wait for the next step: getting married? Or is that going a little too fast? Maybe you are just immensely happy that your feelings for each other are mutual and that you plan to stay together forever. So does there necessarily have to be a wedding? Or can you also get engaged, without getting married after?

Engagement party

Once you get engaged, marriage is indeed not necessarily the next step. Our advice is: enjoy your engagement for as long as you like! Since you want to be together forever, there’s no rush, right? Certainly don’t in fact hesitate to call your partner your “fiancé” all the time.

To share your happiness with your nearest and dearest, you might arrange an engagement party. This is the perfect opportunity to “practice” for your wedding. And it can also take the stress out of a grand wedding celebration. If you choose to have an engagement party, it’s a good idea to have this special occasion captured for posterity by a professional photographer. This way you get to reminisce about a special moment in your lives for many years to come. Besides a photographer, you can of course hire a wedding planner or party planner for engagement dos. Think about whether you would like a quiet little party somewhere intimate or a big lavish do for as many as possible. As with your wedding, you will also need to draw up a guest list for your engagement party. Tip: avoid awkward situations by only inviting people to your engagement party who you want to invite to your wedding later.

Engagement holiday

Not made any specific wedding plans or booked the wedding car yet? But since your engagement party, you discover you’ve got the urge to travel? Not just any old trip but a special one, one to mark your relationship and celebrate your engagement? Then go on an engagement holiday. Fancy the pearly white beaches and azure blue sea in the Maldives? Or would you prefer Hawaii or Malaysia? Perhaps you in fact had two destinations in mind for the honeymoon but couldn’t decide between them. So this solves that then. With both an engagement holiday and a honeymoon, you can explore both destinations.

How long can an engagement last?

Way back in history, you were supposed to get married within 365 days of announcing your engagement. Today, there is no black and white answer to this question. More to the point: how long an engagement lasts depends entirely on you! Of course, you don’t have to get married before you feel completely ready. And just because you said “yes” to your partner’s marriage proposal doesn’t mean they or the outside world expect you to get married that same year. Set your own pace, whether it takes one year or twenty: that’s up to you. You may also choose to stay engaged for your entire life without getting married. And even though others might find that weird, that’s their problem!

Breaking off an engagement

Are you currently on cloud nine? Then naturally you don’t want any talk of breaking up. But should you wish to change your mind in a few years, there’s no problem. An engagement is strictly non-binding and can therefore be broken off at any time, with no legal consequences.