How Long Does It Take Before Making It Official?

How long do you date before making it official? This is a very interesting question because it does not have just one right or wrong answer. It really depends on the emotions of both parties.

Relationships develop between both partners at different speeds, so there is no way to give you an answer on how long it can take. People do not necessarily fall in love at the same exact time.

Often one falls much quicker than the other, sometimes making the commitment more of a “pressured into” feeling rather than a natural ease into a more serious, committed relationship.

Since there is no exact time limit before making it official, there are certain tell-tale signs your partner wants to make your relationship exclusive. Here are just a few:

Before a relationship becomes official, there is still a courting process that happens. Plans are made days in advance because one of the partners asks the other for a date to insure the plans are set in stone.

When the weekend plans are more implied, it is safe to say the relationship is progressing and moving toward becoming more serious, thus leading up to “the talk.”

If one of the partners leaves personal items at the other’s home, it usually means they are spending enough time together and do not want to take time to go back to their own homes.

This creates a false sense of living together, but it is a good exercise to get used to your partner without the full commitment.

One partner wants to have a serious discussion about where the relationship is heading. If both parties do not feel the same way, this talk can become very uncomfortable. No one enjoys hurting someone else’s feelings.

There is no time table for this talk. When one feels strongly, this is when it usually happens.

This can either make or break the relationship. If both parties are not in agreement, it is safe to say the relationship needs more time to develop.

If the “making it official” talk is brought up after a certain length of time and one of the partners is still hesitant to move the relationship forward, it most oftentimes is exactly where the relationship will stay and one of the two will eventually end it.

Don’t try and rush to get the commitment you want. Dating takes time and  should  be a natural progression. Keep an open mind, and when it feels right, it will be official!