How Getting Engaged Changed Our Relationship

This time last year, I was happily prancing around (with smudged eyeliner) after saying YES to the biggest question I’ve ever been asked! 😀 I know my last post was also about being engaged – I promise it’s not all I talk about, I’ve just been incredibly busy in between. Bear with me. ^^

Before we were officially engaged, Chris and I had already discussed our future together – so much so that we were already in the process of buying a house. In fact, that’s where he proposed. 🙂

We had previously spoken about the time of year we’d want to get married, and how long we’d wait until we do, so once we were engaged, we set the perfect date with the “standard” time-frame in Malta; about a year and a half away.

Everyone says how quickly this time flies, and I can honestly vouch for that. Until a couple of months ago, we were “relaxed” (lol yeah right) because we hadn’t reached the 1-year mark yet. But since the countdown started, it’s insane how fast it’s going.

The morning after he proposed

Us 🙂

Being cheesy together

I won’t go into what wedding and house prep has been like – that’s another post for another day. Instead, on this special anniversary, I wanted to write a bit about how being engaged has changed our relationship.

If I had to summarise it all into one sentence, I’d say that it has made us much stronger and closer. Being engaged isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. It can actually be a very difficult and stressful period. Between the financial stress and the pressure of getting everything sorted within a particular time limit, there’s a significant strain can really take its toll on a relationship and it’s so important to communicate and to do things right, together.

Thankfully, the biggest asset of our relationship is definitely that we work very well together; we’re a great team. We agree on most things and discuss disagreements in a civilised way and always reach a compromise. Whether we’re debating the language of our wedding mass or the colour of our bedroom furniture, we talk things out and choose the option that works best for both of us. It’s not always easy… sometimes it’s a 5-minute conversation, other times it goes on for days or even weeks until we reach a final decision.

Funnily enough, one thing that really helped us to grow as a couple was the Marriage Preparation Course (Cana), which might come as a surprise to many of you. The one we chose, at least, wasn’t all about God, religion, sins, the devil, and what you should or shouldn’t do according to the Church. It was actually quite literally ‘marriage preparation’ – it gave us the opportunity to talk about things we’d never even thought about (or avoided); things that helped us learn a lot about ourselves and each other, and in turn, our relationship.

I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you any longer. All I’ll say is that getting engaged definitely changed our relationship – but as stressful as this past year has been, it’s also been incredibly exciting, and I couldn’t be more stoked to marry the biggest pain love of my life. *CHEESE* 😃🧀

Side note: If any of you readers are engaged or planning their future together and are interested in the Marriage Preparation course that we did (I really recommend it), get in touch with me here or send me a message through my Facebook page and I’ll pass on the details.

To all you long-term couples: What ultimate advice would you give a soon-to-be-married couple? Let me know – I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time,

Cricket x