Most women don’t know this, but there are also many things a woman can do to actually PRO-LONG the engagement, or cause the man to have second thoughts about her and break it off altogether!

Here are some of the most common pitfalls that can happen that can prolong an engagement:

• Too much, Too soon! Women who go full-force into professional “Wedding Planner” mode immediately after her man proposes. A lot of otherwise cool & level-headed women have a tendency to be so excited after getting the ring that they suddenly throw all these plans & ideas & wedding fantasies at their man, come home with armfuls of bridal magazines & drag him out everywhere to show off your ring and engagement like a kid in a candy store. But this can really freak a guy out and the change can be too sudden for him. Men need some time to ease into the different phases of a relationship and especially into the reality of the engagement, as well as recover from the monumental decision, stress and financial drain that he has just undergone with his proposal. If you don’t show your appreciation by giving him some time to rest, if you become too demanding & nutty at this point, the man may rethink his proposal.

• Attack of the “Bridezilla!” Formerly normal, “sane” women who suddenly turn into emotional Bridezillas after the man proposes. On a related note, women often don’t know how to manage all that pressure and stress of the planning process very well and will often start exhibiting very unattractive behaviors, like taking their stress out on their man, arguing and nagging him a lot, obsessing over the wedding date and all of the details, and letting the sex decline, which makes the man start re-thinking the wedding. He starts thinking, “Who is this wedding obsessed, Bridal-Magazine-reading woman and where is the girl I used to just have fun with on Friday night?” A lot of women unknowingly make a man feel like she is more focused on “getting the ring” and having the perfect wedding than on the man she is marrying and what the real purpose of the wedding is really about. Men start to feel like they were just duped into “filling a slot” in her master plan.

• Make Love, not War! Fights & Disagreements often break out over wedding details & expenses. They may disagree over everything from the reception venue to the color of the flowers to the cost of the caterer and other fees. This can cause a lot of tension between a couple leading up to the wedding and lead to serious doubts & cold feet, at a time where they should be excited and blissfully in love with each other.

• Money Money Money! We do live in some hard times right now, and a man’s career or financial situation can definitely be a cause for a hold-up. If a Man’s career is in a transitional stage, or if it is super hectic & time-consuming, then he may not want to have a wedding until things settle down some or get more stable for him. And if a man is experiencing some financial woes, as much as he may want to give his girl her dream wedding, every time she excitedly drops words like “caterer” or “flower arrangements” or “DJ” or “reception hall,” all he can hear are dollar signs going cha-ching! cha-ching! cha-cha-ching! $ off in his head. And that can be very daunting for a guy – enough to prolooong the wedding quite a bit.

• Incompatibilities: Couples may also discover incompatibilities & opposing values that they hadn’t known about before, such as one partner wanting children and the other partner realizing that they don’t, differing ideas about domestic roles, career goals, or money.

• Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties may also provoke a problem in the engagement! This is an issue that is often overlooked by the bride and groom-to-be, because it is so often seen as just a mandatory ritual before the wedding. But if gone about the wrong way, they could lead to a lot of hurt or arguing. In order to avoid any potential fights over these parties, just take my advice – make sure you both agree on the rules and boundaries of your individual parties, don’t lie about anything, keep it clean and classy and don’t do anything that could be remotely construed as cheating! Is it really worth it??

How long is normal & healthy to be engaged?

Normal healthy time to be engaged is about a year to a year-and-a-half. When you surpass a year and a half, the chances of the wedding actually happening goes down a bit, and when you surpass 2 years, the chances of a wedding actually happening tend to decrease pretty significantly!

If it’s a long engagement, why might the man be delaying the wedding or getting cold feet?

If it’s a long engagement, the guy is usually dragging his feet because deep down he is afraid of getting married, or he isn’t 100% sure about his fiance. A lot of guys get pressured into proposing, by his girl or his family or friends, or feel like they’ve been dating their girl so long that he “has to” propose to her for fear of losing her, but his heart wasn’t fully in it. Then proposing to her does buy him some more time, but then with the process of planning the wedding, etc. his doubts start creeping in again and he may drag out the engagement process a lot longer. A man may also be dragging his feet if his financial or job situation is a little shaky at the time, and he wants to be more financially stable before having the wedding.

My advice for taking an engagement that’s been dragging and getting your happy ending out of it?

In order to take an engagement that’s been dragging on to move forward toward your “happily ever after,” my advice is to set up a nice long relaxing dinner or an overnight getaway for just you and your man. Because of all the tension and pressure that’s been building up with the planning process, you and your man especially need a little break to just reconnect, have fun again and remember the real reason that the wedding is all about. If your man has been dragging it out, remind him of the wonderful and fun-loving girl that he proposed to.

So during your dinner and overnight, make sure you are laughing, connecting, and having a great time, and then together you should just knock out all the pending decisions that need to be made that’s been stalling the wedding process, and choose a date that works for both of you and that is going to add the last amount of stress to both of your lives. Be willing to make some compromises over the details or the date if you need to. Don’t leave the dinner or vacation until that spark is back and you’re both in great, loving spirits again. That way you can get back on the same page again and move forward with the process, feeling connected and passionate about going through with the wedding and having your happily ever after.

“RELATIONSHIPS: Raw & Uncensored” is a series of LIVE Seminars and mixers (I’m calling them “Semin-ixers”) that I will be leading one night a month, where each month I will be exploring with you a different Dating, Relationship, & Attraction-related topic that is going to help you dramatically improve your success with dating and master  your relationships with the opposite sex. After each 1-Hour seminar, I then open it up to an open “Mingling & Networking,” where you are encouraged to stick around for a while, have some wine and food, and meet all the great single people around you. These seminars are designed for professional adults who are interested in meeting great, high-quality people and attracting and maintaining quality, extraordinary relationships.

Another unique feature that makes these monthly Seminars a must-attend event are that they are CO-ED, so there is already a built-in panel of men AND women in these seminars with lots of group-interaction, so you will learn so much about how dating, attraction and relationships really work for the opposite sex and walk away with a lot of “uncensored,” inside information and strategies & real practice that you cannot get anywhere else. Plus you’ll enjoy some great food and wine, and meet new friends & potential dates. These seminars are designed for adults who are single or dating, as well as those who are in relationships and want to have them reach their full potential.

*REGISTER for the NEXT Seminar: Tuesday, April 24th

• Do you keep dating the “wrong” people, and winding up in the wrong, dead-end relationships?

• Do you feel like you just can’t seem to find any “good,” HIGH-QUALITY people out there that you’re interested in –and the only ones that you ARE interested in aren’t interested in YOU?

• Do your relationships with men just seem to fall FLAT – You start dating a good guy, you think everything is going great – but then he suddenly disappears, goes distant on you, or gives you the old “I really like you, BUT… I’m just not ready for a relationship or commitment right now…”

• Do you seem to have a track record of women breaking up with you, cheating on you, or giving you the same old “You’re a nice guy BUT… I just want to be Friends” routine?

• Does your lack of experience with the opposite sex hold you back and keep you from dating & from having successful romantic relationships?

• OR, Do you think of yourself as an altogether pretty great catch who is smart, successful and attractive – but you just haven’t been able to find & attract that one amazing person who is a perfect match for you to spend the rest of your life with??

Well if any of this sounds like you at all, the end result is still the same – your dating & love life as it stands right now is not where you’d like it to be. You probably thought you’d be blissfully in the relationship of your dreams by now, or enjoying a delicious, passionate marriage with your Soulmate.

I understand how frustrating it feels being single and watching your friends get married and coupled off one by one, seeing other people around you in happy relationships, and feeling like your own love life is not making much progress and you’re starting to wonder if you ever will find love.

If you were given the chance, would you love to just want to cut through all the BS of dating and get yourself an amazing love life as quickly as possible? Well I want to help you finally start WINNING in your love life and get you the delicious dating life or dream relationship that you know you were meant to have! That, my friend is the stuff that makes life truly worth living.

My name is DeAnna Lorraine, I’m a Dating & Relationship Coach, and I solve your biggest problems with DATING & Relationships – And help you find “The One.”

Click HERE to Take the Free “Dating & Relationship Needs Assessment” & Sign up for your Complimentary 30-Minute Dating Strategy Call over the phone to discuss your current love life & learn more about my Date Coaching program for men or women looking to greatly enhance their Dating & Relationship Success.

Tips for the LADIES:

1. Enforce a regular weekly DATE Night: Alone, without the kids. And make sure you stick to it!

2. Sexy Surprises: Send sexy Texts messages, Emails, or Picture messages throughout the week, Or When he comes home from work, Open the door & greet him in lingerie or a naughty costume and his favorite drink.

3. Share FANTASIES: Introduce regular “Fantasy Nights”: Express sexual fantasies with each other, & make sure that you are open-minded and non-judgemental. And start getting busy!

4. Introduce new Tricks, Positions or new Toys in the bedroom

5. COMPLIMENT him more frequently and tell him how HOT he is, how sexy he is, and specific things you love about him or his body, or how he turns you on. Remind him that you’re his #1 fan and that you’re still hot for him!

*Bonus: Dress Up and dress HOT for your Man! I don’t care how old you are, how tired you are or how many children you’ve had, you should never stop dressing up and dressing hot for your Man. You should never stop putting effort into your physical appearance, and you should always strive to look your best and sexiest at whatever age you are. Trade in your sweats or work-clothes for a hot new dress and heels that he’s never seen before on your date nights. Make him proud that he chose you as his wife.