Just FYI, not everyone is better off getting married. Legally, financially, I'd be better off being unmarried, and so would DH. Marriage has actually diminished the protection we both get from other legal documents.
My life insurance and so on would have all gone to my partner (or whoever I had named as the beneficiaries) anyway, my will has money and assets gong to numerous people, not just DH (as does his), but now that I'm married I have to trust DH will go with my wishes, which I do, but I resent that I have to. We have separate finances, this is what we both very much want and what is best for both of us, but marriage has meant that when the bank makes decisions about our credit, any loans we may take out and so on, the other's financial position is factored in. Due to past experiences both our wishes regarding medical care are complex, marriage actually made things much more difficult in this regard. Before our wishes would have been paramount, now I have a legal basis to over-rule DH's wishes and vice versa. Again, we trust each other, but we'd much prefer neither was in that position. Neither of us would be eligible for any benefits if the other died, and we wouldn't need or accept any kind of spousal support if the other left. It makes no difference to our DC's rights and protections, all that was already more than covered before we were married.
We married because I travel for work, in the past for very long stretches, and marriage made visa's and all that easier. We did it for the short term convenience, without really thinking through the long-term effects, and we've talked about divorcing in order to gain back our old rights. If we can do it quietly we probably will within the next few years.