how long should an engagement last?

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my husband and i were engaged for a year and a half before getting married. i found that this amount of time worked for us. it let us pay for everything cash and it gave enough time to our out of town friends and relatives to make arrangements to come. i have a friend that got engaged the same day that we did, christmas day 2005, and they still aren't married. i have found that they argue over where to have the ceremony, the wedding colors even where to register. i just find it amazing that three years later, they haven't even set a date. is there a point to a long, drawn out engagement? it just seems to me that if you have to wait that long to get married, that you still have a lot of doubts about your relationship.