It really depends on where each of you are in your life and how stable your financial situation is . If youre both set in your careers , finiancially sound and ready to get hitched and settle down , 6 months to a year is reasonable . But if one of you arent sure or you have large outstanding debt or you have disagreements on child rearing , lifestyle etc then it might take longer to figure each other out . The Catholic church has you do several sessions of counseling to make sure you ' re on good financial footing , have a place to live , agreed on how many children , and on decisions that can lead to turmoil and disagreements like politics and such . Any couple going in should participate in a few sessions like that though , religious or not .