So you’ve just said yes to forever with your best friend! You’ve shed some happy tears, and shared the good news with all of your loved ones, popped some champagne, and taken a hundred selfies.

Before you blink and get caught up in full blown wedding planning, there is one thing you absolutely, hands down, need to do first:

Be present — as fully present as humanly possible — and enjoy this moment.

Engagement can be one of the most sweet, sacred and joyful seasons in your life. Yet so often, people can’t wait for it to be over.

I promise, you will have plenty of time to plan your wedding. In fact, most of your engagement will be spent planning a wedding. Give yourself space to celebrate before you rush into the craziness of planning.

Yes, you should be looking forward to marriage! But it’s such an incredibly short span of time in your life and I truly believe there’s a lot you can learn.

Use this time to enjoy each other, learn more about each other’s hopes and dreams. However long or short your engagement is (that’s not the point), make sure you are present in the middle of it.

You are only engaged once in your life. Celebrate it with all you’ve got.