HelloBridal: How To Get Ready For Engagement Season

Wedding bells ring a little louder around engagement season. It’s a beautiful time for many families, but it can get complicated due to the many expectations and logistics that come with proposals. 

This is a time of year that doesn’t just affect the couple headed down the aisle. Friends and family are involved in their journeys. You might be in the center of bridal bliss during one engagement season and setting up a dear friend to begin their road to matrimony in the next. 

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No matter what side of the experience you’re on, it helps to be prepared when someone decides to put a ring on it. 

See what you need to learn about engagement season below. 

What Is Engagement Season? 

Engagement season is the time of the year when people are popping the question more frequently. Brides-to-be pop out all over social media during this period of the year, announcing that they are starting out on their marriage journey. It can seem like the second the Halloween costumes get put in storage and the chill sets into the air proposals start to come from every direction.

When Is Engagement Season? 

There’s no official beginning to engagement season, but it generally arrives with Thanksgiving and ends near Valentine’s Day. These tentpoles mark the beginning and the end of the period. They let family and friends to gather without suspicion. People take PTO at this time as well, increasing their availability to celebrate. 

Celebrity engagements frequently take place at this time. 

Jordyn Woods and Winnie Harlow got engaged during engagement season. Woods accepted a ring from her champion-winning husband Karl Anthony Towns during Christmas. Harlow said yes to her NBA beau Kyle Kuzma during a Valentine’s Day celebration. G Herbo asked Taina Williams to be his on New Year’s Eve. Ludacris and Eudoxie Mbouguiengue wed hours after he proposed during a Christmas getaway that included a private plane. 

How To Get Ready For Engagement Season As A Potential Bride-To-Be

Keep your nails done! 

There is nothing worse than a special moment being interrupted by a chipped pinky. Keep it cute at all times. If you’re a traditional person maybe opt for solid colors during this season. Rely on neutral shades that keep the focus on that sparkler coming your way. 

Drop Hints About That Ring 

Consider Overpacking

Think about bringing that dress you’ve been saving for a special occasion if you’re traveling with a significant other. You never know if you’ll be doing an impromptu engagement photoshoot over that long weekend. If you are, you’ll be grateful that you had more than a suitcase stuffed with Shein. 

Tell Your Circle What You Want In A Proposal

There’s a chance that your partner might rope your friends and family into their plan to ask you to be yours. When you feel things are getting serious make sure you mention what you might like to your day ones. They can relay that information to your future fiancé. If it is important that they ask your family, make sure you find a way to express that to your friends. If you’d rather die than rock a pear-shaped diamond, pass that information on. That lets you keep everything romantic between you two. 

Take A Hint 

Engagement season might bring out little shifts in the behavior of the closest people to you. If your laid-back friend is stressed about you being late all of a sudden or your type-A friend suddenly wants to stay out later than their self-imposed 9 pm curfew, just go with it. They might know something you don’t about the next chapter of your life with your beloved. 

Make A Plan To Announce The News To The People That Matter 

Before you toss up the “Issa Finance” post on story, stop and consider who would be hurt by not hearing the news of your nuptials right from your mouth. You do NOT want your bridesmaids’ proposal process to be full of drama. 

Flossing your ring on a few FaceTimes privately can help the people you will need through wedding planning feel prioritized and included.  

Have An Answer Ready…No Matter What It Is 

Many proposals are not surprises, but the journey to marriage isn’t. Lots of couples talk about marriage a lot before it happens. If your partner keeps speaking about it as an inevitability and you’re not quite sure yet, send that message early. The last thing you want is an awkward moment in matching pajamas. That is not a gift anyone would appreciate. 

How To Get Ready For Engagement Season As A Friend Or Family Member Of A Couple Headed Down The Aisle

If you have a feeling your bestie or sister is about to become a Mrs., there’s a few things you can do to support her on the journey. 

Respond To Her Partner’s Outreach

It can be a natural instinct to ignore a number you don’t know because who is about to let a random play on their phone. During engagement season, you might want to look twice at who is reaching out to you though. Partners often rope their bride-to-be’s friends in on the scheme when a proposal is a secret. 

Keep an eye out for numbers or social media handles you are unfamiliar with hitting you up. It might just be your homegirl’s forever love calling for help. 

Nudge Her In The Right Style Direction 

If you know that the brunch you’re headed to is actually a proposal do NOT let your girl show up in that weird jumpsuit she had thoughts about in the fitting room. 

Help her look the way you know she’d walk to when she’s walking towards forever. 

Pace Yourself 

The best way to support a friend in her season of abundance is to engage in some self-care. Set limits and don’t commit to anything that you can’t do without draining yourself. She wants the full you at her side, not a stressed-out shell of you that’s minus a few edges.