I've seen more than enough people rush into marriage only to have it end badly. This is especially true for couples in their late teens and early 20s. I'm not saying that getting married quickly can't work out because I know a couple of relationships that have, but more often than not the excitement of it is greater than the reality. Sure it's exciting to love a guy so much you can't wait to start the rest of your life with him, but there are several reasons you may want to hold off a bit with the wedding.
Marriage is expensive
A 2011 report stated that the average cost of a wedding is around $27,000. Of course not every wedding is going to cost that much, but most still cost thousands of dollars. There's no doubt that weddings are expensive and if you rush too quickly into marriage and find you made a mistake, divorces cost even more (and time consuming).
The longer you date the more you learn
You learn a lot about the guy you're with when the two of you start dating, but around the six month or one year mark is when you really start to get into the gritty parts. The honeymoon phase is over and things are no longer roses and sunshine. You'll have disagreements, see what the other is like in various situations and circumstances and figure out how the other person really operates. The longer you date, the more you learn about your guy's quirks and true character that could make or break your decision to marry him.
It doesn't fix what's broken
I've known a few couples who were having issues in their relationship and thought marriage would fix them. Marriage is not a cure-all and it's not a bandage. If you rush into marriage just to fix the problems you're having with your guy, it's essentially like brushing giant dust bunnies under the bed. Sure they're hidden for awhile, but they're going to surface at some point and be bigger than before.
It gives you more time to get yourself in order
I fully believe that you shouldn't get married until you're in a good place with yourself. This doesn't mean you have to be perfect, but you should be happy with yourself, have money in the bank and know what it's like to stand on your own two feet. Ideally this should be accomplished before you even get into a relationship, but it should certainly be done before you get married.
You want to make sure both of you are ready
The worst thing you can do is pressure a guy into getting married. Both of you should wait to get married until you both have your lives in order and you genuinely want to marry each other. The two of you have to be on the same page and be truly ready if you have any chance of making a marriage work.
When it comes down to it, there's absolutely no reason to rush into marriage. What's important is that the two of you enjoy your time together and continue to improve on your relationship. Wait until the timing is right and both of you know it before you take that next and very important step of marriage.
More from Lauren R:
What we can learn from the Zuckerberg wedding
Tips for handling weddings with your guyTalking about past relationships: Why it's not such a bad thing
