Choosing the Right Time to Get Married

When I got married in May of 2005, so many people said we weren't ready. They all seemed to think that we thought marriage was just a game. When we got married, several people said we would be done in three months. When we were still together then, they said by the end of the year we would be done for sure. They found out I was pregnant and said our marriage would not last past our child's first birthday. He is 14 months old now and we are still going strong. I haven't heard anyone talking about our marriage time line lately.

People said we weren't ready to get married because we were young and hadn't been together long. I was 22 and my husband was 20 when we got married. We had been dating for only nine months, but we knew we were ready. We had talked about what we wanted our future to be like realistically. We had answered all the questions that we thought anyone should answer before they get married. Yes, we were ready for the lifetime commitment that we both believe marriage involves.

When contemplating marriage, it is a good idea to look at more factors than just how old you both are and how long you have been together. Those two things won't get you through the rocky parts of marriage. You need to take into account each party's hopes and dreams, beliefs, and ideas about childrearing, to name a few. There are also current things you need to consider like finances and location.

The first thing my husband and I discussed when considering the idea of marriage was our personal beliefs. We wanted to make sure we believed in the same things to avoid fights later. In this, I don't just mean spiritual beliefs, though those are important, too. But I also mean things like who is going to do the cleaning? Who will be in charge of finances? If children are involved, who will do the majority of the childcare? These may seem like small things, but they can cause some pretty big fights if you aren't both willing to compromise and work things out.