19 Surprising Things That Happen When You Get Engaged

    A lot of weird stuff goes down before the wedding.

    Sophie Hines
    by Sophie Hines

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. You immediately feel the need to tell everyone.

    Twitter: @gma

    Even if the only people around you post-proposal are a bunch of tourists who don’t speak English and just look at you like “What?”

    2. You have an in-depth discussion with your partner about the correct protocol for sharing the news.

    3. At least one older family member responds to your news with the phrase "About time".

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    There's always one.

    4. You tell your proposal story so many times it becomes a narrative masterpiece.

    Bravo

    Much like a stand-up comedian, you know how to set the scene, build up the suspense, and when to pause for laughs.

    5. You receive a load of messages from people you haven't heard from in years telling you that they "can't wait" for the wedding.

    Twitter: @_chrishero

    Which is awkward given that they haven't even made it onto the reserve list.

    6. Your mum starts planning her outfit almost immediately.

    7. You discover that you and your partner definitely don’t have EVERYTHING in common when it comes to wedding plans.

    BBC

    This comes to light when one of you starts enthusing about a big white wedding for 200 people, while the other reveals their dream of 10 guests and a pub lunch. Awkward.

    8. People start asking for intricate details of your wedding before you’ve even decided what year you're having it in.

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    They REALLY want to know which hotel to book and what the parking situation is going to be like.

    9. You're introduced to the wild world of wedding costs.

    10. You realise that as well as planning a wedding, people expect you to organise engagement drinks.

    Flickr: marcmos / Creative Commons

    As if your event planning skills were not being pushed to the max already.

    11. You find out through Google searches that you were actually meant to start planning your wedding three years ago.

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    Never look at a "wedding timeline" online unless you want to give yourself a heart attack.

    12. Suddenly your inbox is bombarded after you accidentally sign up to loads of wedding websites.

    Sophie Hines / Buzzfeed

    You thought you were just signing up to receive details of a venue, but actually you’ll be receiving updates on confetti and wedding diets for the rest of your life.

    13. You become even more obsessed with wedding themed TV shows.

    TLC

    14. You find out that almost everyone you know has an opinion on what your wedding should involve.

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    And they share this advice whether or not you've asked for it.

    15. At least one parent will lose their mind.

    Lifetime

    Often the mother of the bride, who will start sending texts at 7am saying she has been experimenting with the best method of napkin-folding, despite your wedding being 11 months away.

    16. Wedding blogs replace YouTube videos as your internet wormhole of choice.

    Sophie Hines / BuzzFeed

    Until you literally can’t look at another string of homemade bunting or floral centrepiece EVER AGAIN.

    17. You have THAT conversation about surnames.

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    And come up with numerous hilarious ways of merging your surnames, regardless of whether you're actually planning to do this or not.

    18. On at least one occasion you start seeing the appeal of eloping…

    Flickr: natala / Creative Commons

    Primarily when you receive your latest batch of quotes for wedding services.

    19. … But the outpouring of joy from your friends and family is really touching.

    Warner Bros.

    It’s lovely to realise people are so genuinely happy for you, and it makes all the stress of wedding planning worthwhile.