Engagement. what does it really mean?

I'm in the midst of a long engagement, we've currently been engaged for about 7 or 8 months now, and probably won't get married for another year or so. He's deployed overseas right, which is why we're having such a long engagement. Without his deployment, there's a good chance we'd have gotten married already, or be closer to a wedding date.

I don't really know what this means. It could mean taken by someone in a really serious relationship so don't you ever dare try hit on or flirt with her, SHE'S MINE! That's what my husband did once, because we were married at a really young age and a guy didn't believe we were really married

I'm not really sure, actually. I know people that have been engaged for only a few months before getting married, and others that were engaged for two years or more. For me at least, getting engaged is sort of a way of solidifying a committed relationship. You're saying that this is the person that you want to marry, but you're just not ready for marriage yet. There are a few reasons for this, at least that I can think of: * finances -- some people are ready to be committed, but just don't have enough money for a wedding yet * school -- I know a few people who got engaged while they were in college but waited until they graduated to get married so they didn't have to worry about working married life and school together * location -- i think some people in long-distance relationships get engaged but wait to get married until they are able to be together Marriage is a pretty big committment, so I think a lot of people just want to make sure they are 100% ready in every way before they go that far.