Help! I Need Suggestions....

If you are thinking of yourself as a child, why should your parents think differently? Will they be upset because a wedding may stop you from starting or finishing school? Do the 2 of you make enough money working to have a home or apt. Of your own or will you have to live with parents?
If you already know nothing will change in your relationship and will eventually get married no matter what, why not wait a while? Go ahead, get engaged if you must. But hold off on the wedding for awhile. Work out a long term plan with your hubby to be. How long will it take to finish school, save up enough $ for a place to live,furnish it, have enough $ for utility deposits and still be able to eat? When you tell your parents you are engaged, have your plan ready to present. It may help to ease their fears if you are handling this like adults and not rushing into it blind.

I totally agree with Kay 100%. Have a long engagement, work on savings, career (or even a job), complete school and build a future before you get married. Take time to plan because it will be a struggle as it is, you don`t want to make it a HUGE struggle getting married so young.

Thank you to Kay and Leanna for the advice. And just to clear everything up for other posters....we have no intention of getting married until i graduate from college. We just want to get engaged.

For heavens sake, make your parents a part of the plan! Your boyfriend should approach your father and tell him his feelings and that he would like his blessing to propose to you. That would be the point where he can tell your father of intentions.... Such as finishing school, a long engagement, saving for a wedding, etc. This goes a long way to making parents feel a part of the event...and it speaks well of a young man who takes her parents feelings into consideration. My guess is they will give it their blessing because of the maturity your fiance shows in asking for your hand. It`s old fashioned, but very romantic!!

You are going to be 19 and he is going to be 20, so really, you two are adults. I don`t know what your parents are like but I have to agree with the first response that you should definently make an effort to keept your parents apart of the engagement. Besides, what can they do? You are a legal adult and capable of making your own decisions. Congratulations and work hard through college so you`ll get the wedding you`ve waited for and deserve!

I can understand why you are worried. Are you more worried about your mom or your dad? Maybe there is a aunt or uncle you can talk to confidentially and let them know your concerns, chances are they know their sibblings better then you know your parents! They can even give you possilbe questions your parents will ask, and you can be prepared for the answer!! Also, when you tell them you are engaged let them know it will be long term, that makes their stomach settle a bit!
One thing to think about... Do you feel you are too young? Make sure you know the answer to that and how you guys want to spend your future. Talking about marriage is one thing, but future goals that you have set individually may not match up. Especially when you have been together less then a year. My fiance and i went through a book called The Hard Questions: 100 questions to ask before you say I do. Sounds cheesy, but we got into a few debates, and we thought we knew each other! (We had a long engagement as well, there is nothing bad about them!)
Hopefully I didn`t come across as preachy!! Good luck, I hope it all works out!

You have gotten some very good and sound advise from the other replies you have received. If your boyfriend is well liked by your parents, he should speak with your parents first and let them know his intentions. I am thrilled that you are going to take this special occasion slow and finish schooling first, because no matter what you will have that to fall back on. Keep in mind that children will play into your future and your children can`t live on love alone... They need milk, food, clothing, housing and medical expenses to be paid for, along with that love you have to give them. Nothing causes more headaches than money problems. So make sure you can support future needs. That doesn`t mean that you have to be a millionaire to get married, just use some common sense on what the future holds for ordinary every day living.