Stumblymonkey, we've had the same scenario. We met very late July, decided we were going to get married in the August/September. Brought ring in October and got engaged on Christmas Day, as we knew one way and another we would be seeing quite lot of both sets of relatives and we knew it would bring a great deal of joy. Both sides have had more than their fair share of funerals, including my sister's😔.
When you think about life, 27 years down the line, we thought that it's blindingly obvious that there are every roughly twice the number of funerals as there are weddings. We decided we'd definitely have a small wedding, but in a church, as we felt our vows were serious. Especially when I overheard my boss say to another colleague that he was placing bets on how long our marriage would last! B@@@@@@!!! He was the one, incidentally who got divorced a year later, and ran off with the accounting manager! I really felt, and still do, sorry for his poor wife and two very small (not so small now) children, as he was always dissing his poor wife, behind her back, at work. If there's one thing I hate in a person, it's that...
Our main reason though, was at that point in time I had four grandparents. DH had one. The last time my grandparents had been all together was at my sister's funeral.
We saved up like hell that following year. Everything was worked out to the penny. So, we just about afforded to move closer to our current jobs. It was very important, long term, to stay in our jobs. We had six weeks to paint the entire outside of our house, because we knew that when we came back it would be too cold. So we worked hard, on the outside and parts of the inside. Little did we realise that the couple and children had bought a kitten, in the interim of making our offer and moving in, said kitten shitted absolutely everywhere. Oh, and the 'lovely🙄 couple' had decided to move themselves. They finally finished moving themselves at four. Little did we realise that the couple had left quite a few exposed wiring and many other dangers. The furniture removal people had an hour to unload us, before they clocked off. That day was totally chaos, was an understatement and not something I'd recommend to anyone.
Little did I realise just how proud all my grandparents were, that we'd already just got our house. They look even prouder in our wedding photos, but the video particularly. I actually cry when I see it and see faces of past, now gone, some, more than others. None of them expected to live that long. My grandfather particularly commented that it was the best day of his life to see his granddaughter get married. You can actually see just how incredibly proud he was... Even my children cry when they see it, unknown but such proud faces in their ways, and to see other faces familiar to them, when they were growing up, but now, no longer here. We've had an awful lot of funerals since. Way too many.
So yes, if there's somehow, someway, of going ahead with this wedding and you're both that determined, I'd predict that as an excellent omen. Talk to both sets of parents, maybe take out some extra when you move, like we did. We saved so hard too. If there's a mean's, my nan used to say, there's a way... I'm so glad we went ahead, brought the house (taking out a small extra) and got married.
Yes, I know it sounds old fashioned to say, that walking, slowly, down that aisle, with my father, it brings back so many poignant memories of various faces. I'm so glad I didn't rush down that aisle at all (bride's prerogative?!), because I fully intended this moment of walking down the aisle to be the first and last! Yes, I was keen and very relieved to see my husband to be, waiting for me.
If anyone asked us whether we'd do it again, literally on a shoestring and some toothpaste (don't ask!), we would.
Definitely.
In a heartbeat😉.