"My parents dated for six months, and six months later they were married, which I think is ridiculous right now," Smith said. "Longer engagements are the new thing."

Fisher said, "We live in a time where you can do it the way you feel comfortable doing it. There are some people who want to make a deep, long-term promise to each other, which is an engagement, and marry 10 years from now."

The redefinition of the term "engagement" is creating a new frontier for longtime committed couples. "The day is going to come when we look back at somebody who instantly married and wonder why," Fisher said.