Engagement
The agreed promise to marry, marked by a proposal, a ring and often a party.
Also: engagement ring, proposal
An engagement is the period between an agreement to marry and the wedding. In much of the West it starts with a proposal by one partner, often with a ring, and is followed by an announcement and sometimes an engagement party. The diamond engagement ring is a twentieth-century convention, made popular by a De Beers advertising campaign in the 1940s. Customs differ: in some places, such as Scandinavia, the engagement rings are plain bands, and in others the family arranges an engagement ceremony. Engagements may last from a day to several years.