<p>1973 - met in high school
1975 - began dating (non-exclusive)
1981 - began cohabitating (exclusive)
1984 until present - married</p>
<p>The funny thing is that I can’t remember an engagement date, as it wasn’t really a big deal for us.</p>
<p>1976-started dating in h.s. I was a freshman. He was a senior.</p>
<p>1977-broke up when he went to college…both dated others</p>
<p>Christmas 1980-ran into each other at Christmas Eve service at church, began talking,dating again. I knew he was the one. I was college fresh. He had one sem. of college to go.</p>
<p>1981 (Oct.) got engaged</p>
<p>1982 (June) got married. I was 20. He was 23.</p>
<p>Twenty seven years and two kids later…still together.</p>
<p>p.s. I transferred colleges (lost credits…ugh) when we got married, never missed a semester and grad. May '85</p>
<p>Met in 1968 as college frosh. We each dated others that year and the next. Had lots of mutual friends. Guess we started dating each other as college juniors. After college he went to grad school and I went to work in NYC. We got engaged while he was in grad school. Got married in 1975, a year after he finished grad school. Did not live together before marriage.</p>
<p>Still married (35 years this spring), two young adult kids (born 1983 and 1989), neither of whom is likely to marry any time soon.</p>
<p>I’ll add my parents’ story, too – they met in 4th grade (1966) when their elementary schools merged; my dad remembers my mom standing on a chair and saying if the (dad’s elementary) kids didn’t like it there, they could leave, because the (mom’s elementary) kids didn’t want them there anyway. </p>
<p>They started “dating” in 6th grade, and dated mostly on, sometimes off all through high school. They broke up junior year of college, dated other people. After they graduated, they ran into each other around town and my dad asked my mom on a date. Six weeks later, they were engaged, and they were married a year later. They’ve been married for 28 years.</p>
<p>My parents story is seriously scary. They met on a blind date when she was in high school and he was in college. They got married when she was 18 and a freshman, she left her college to join him - she spent one year at his college, one year at the college he got his masters and finally when I was in junior high went back to school and got her degree. They’ve been married 60+ years.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, dh and I lived together for most of the 8 years we weren’t married - though we spent 3 years in grad schools on opposite coasts and one year I lived in a van traveling across the country photographing fire stations. Dh and I celebrated 25 years last summer.</p>
<p>Ahhh, molliebatmit’s story is so cute!</p>
<p>We met just after I finished grad school; H still had a few months to go in a post grad program at that point. Dated, with a gap of a several months in there when one of us who shall remain nameless wasn’t ready to commit exclusively, for 14 months. Engaged for only five months. Would have no doubt been longer, but was the only date available (I think someone backed out :eek:) for the place we wanted to book that wasn’t well over a year out. We were in different cities by then, so that was a factor as well. Coming up on 25 years.</p>
<p>Dated 1 year, engaged 3 years (starting when I was 18!), married when I was 21 and he was 23, waited another 10 years to have children. (We were kind of chicken about the last part.)</p>
<p>I would be appalled if my kids got engaged or married as young as I did. What was I thinking?</p>
<p>My husband and I met the day I started a new job. He got my computer running for me, including soldering a new cable. We talked for a bit. He came by the next day to make sure it was working well. This went on for a week. Then I found out he was also one of the founders of the company (which he and his college roommate started at age 22). Our first meeting outside work was a week later; our third date was to his parents’ 25th wedding anniversary party. We bought a house together nine months after we met; we got married another nine months later; we had out first child almost exactly three years after we met. We will celebrate our 26th anniversary next week.</p>
<p>Oh, and DH and his college roommate are still business partners. Different business, though. They sold that one a long time ago.</p>
<p>Unofficial proposal after 6 weeks (afraid to tell parents for fear they would think we were insane!), official engagement at 5 months, wedding 9 months later, married 26 years and counting.</p>
<p>Met in 1980, while my sister worked for him. Our first date was New Years Eve, 1982. I was proposed to on March 3,1983 and married Sept 4, 1983. married 26 years. Today is our 27 year anniversary of our first date.</p>
<p>We just knew it was right. I was 27, he was 28.</p>
<p>Met at Philmont the summer before we started attending Olin College together. I hurt my ankle and was off the trail, he was wearing an Olin tshirt. I said hi. </p>
<p>Went to Olin together for 4 years. </p>
<p>Got engaged winter break of our senior year. </p>
<p>Got married one year after graduation. </p>
<p>7 (wonderful) months so far.</p>
<p>Sooo, OP, are you giving or getting the Q?</p>
<p>First fiance: Engaged after dating almost six years. Engaged only a few weeks. No cohabitation. Family didn’t approve so we never married, except in our hearts.</p>
<p>Second fiance: Engaged after dating five months. Married eight months later. No cohabitation. Still legally married, 20 years. Never felt like it was to the right man. </p>
<p>A fast engagement right after leaving a long, fulfilling relationship was not wise. I thought time and children would erase the imprint my first love left on my heart. Turns out the bond we made to each other before G-d the night he proposed is the one that has endured and appears to be eternal, for both of us. </p>
<p>The durability of true love is astounding. I enjoy hearing all of your stories.</p>
<p>Marriage proposal after one month. I said yes 6 months later. Moved in together at that point. Wedding 11 month after that. Marriage lasted 22 awesome years, until his death.</p>
<p>I do advise my daughters to live with their boyfriends/fiances before getting married. Oh, and go on one long trip to a country neither speaks the language before getting engaged. If you are speaking after that, you are probably good.</p>
<p>I’ve told my present boyfriend we need to live together before getting married. We’ve been on one long trip, it wasn’t deal breaker, but didn’t really cement the relationship. I’m thinking we need to try that again before any marriage.</p>
<p>As for my parents, this was many moon ago. My parents got engaged and married within 10 months. She was 19. They’ve been married 51 years.</p>
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<p>Being cooped up in a motel room during a snowstorm for several days works pretty well, too. So does being stuck together with little or no other help when one person has the flu or a broken leg. These situations bring out the best or worst in a lot of us.</p>
<p>Getting pregnant can work, but I couldn’t recommend it. Dated 5 years; did not live together. He was a medical student, I was a resident. The nurse where H-to-be visited me everyday said “No!” Yeah, right! Engaged for about a year. Married when D was about 6 months. Didn’t want to rush or wear a maternity gown. Together a total of 25 years now. </p>
<p>D was in our wedding picture. I thought I was being outrageous, but later I had to explain to my kids…</p>
<p>After dating one year I gave my husband an ultimatum that I needed to know if he was serious by the year’s end which was 3 mos away. (otherwise I was going to leave). I wanted children and was 34 by then and had seen too many friends wait around for a commitment without getting one. He proposed Dec. 23rd…we’ve been married for 18 years, quite happily.</p>
<p>Oh, my parents went on one date and Dad proposed. (WW2) They were madly in love for 40 years. I asked Mom how she knew he was the one and she said something about similar backgrounds and values. She had what we call in our family “horse sense” about things.</p>