If you are married

[BertieBotts]

How old were you when you felt ready for marriage? And how long had you been with your partner?

Just curious

[Offred]

Think have always been "ready for marriage" which I see more as understanding marriage and what it means, don't feel i have to be prepared to stay married at all costs just aware of the implications of divorce also that the reason for marrying being protection for yourself and children means you have to feel sure of longevity and commitment to a certain extent.

Avoided marriage to abusive xp because l understood it, met dh at 23 when I had two small dc, got together after 6 months, had long distance relationship. When he moved up here 7 months after that, and needed to move in, I insisted we would need to have joint account (as I would lose my benefits and be dependent on him) and get engaged or else we should continue as we were until ready. We bought a house a month later and we married 4 months after that 18 months after meeting and a year after starting the relationship.

I don't think I would be married if I hadn't had two small dc but that's more because of how society discriminates against women and especially unmarried mothers than because I am unhappy being married to dh. I would prefer a different more free life but have tried to do right by dc. If I hadn't met anyone I felt worth sacrificing my freedom for I don't think I would have married, if dh wasn't right then I wouldn't have let him move in and would have continued as I was and carried on studying at that time rather than interrupting it to get married and have a baby (or more accurately twins) with dh.

[SlimJimBra]

Met DH at 21, knew within weeks that he was the one and we'd be together forever - for me that has always meant marriage. Fortunately DH felt the same (about me and about marriage!) Got engaged at 22 and married at 24. His Mum was expecting an engagement announcement after 8 months so it wasn't just us who thought it was on the cards :)

[lady24]

engaged at 19 married at 20. together now for 4 years. still happy two kids later.

[PearlyWhites]

31/ 9 months more than ready

[sue52]

We were together for ten years (living together for 8 of them) before and recently celebrated thirty years of very happy marriage.

[springlamb]

Met at 17, bought flat at 20, bought house and got married at 25. Did the decision to purchase house (with room for a family) rather than a shoebox flat mean I was ready for marriage? God knows, but we did start a family 2 years later. I don't think there was a clear 'I'm ready' moment, looking back we both wish we had done some things differently - however, the different things would have been joint things, done together, so we suspect the end result would have been the same, and are working on doing the different things now!
The end result: 28 years together, 20 married, following the Lennon philosophy - 'life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans'.

[Bertrude]

Married at 23 (a fact which I forgot, until I had to scan my marriage certificate earlier for my new residence visa)

Got together 2 days before my 21st. Engaged on 1st anniversary. Married less than 2 years later.

He moved in to my house after 6 weeks. Marriage just felt like it was going to happen and it just did.

5th anniversary on Saturday

[YNCarter]

i was 20 yrs old when i got married...we knew each other 4 months before we got married....we are married almost 17 years now

[MunchkinsMumof2]

Engaged at 25, married at 26,been married for 11.5 years and very happy.

[Jellibotti]

Met at 18 (me) 19 (him). First year of uni for me. I went to Spain for a year, plodded on, moved in together at 23. Engaged at 26. Married at 27. First child at 30. Second child at 34.
I still don't feel ready. My subconscious still believes I'm 17. I feel very odd when people refer to me as Mrs JelliBotti and I can't believe I'm trusted with small children ALONE! I am actually 'mummy'.
Think that's just me though. I did think 'so soon?!' when he proposed, but I suppose as someone else said, it was because we had grown up together and still felt very much like friends on an adventure rather than an old married couple.

[HellonHeels]

Married at 29; we had been together just over a year. TBH I didn't feel at all ready to get married at that age.

[lynzie68]

Married at 23, we where together 6 months when we got engaged, married within 7 months. I new when I picked him up for our first date I'd marry him :)

[Ephiny]

30, after 10 years together. It was about the same time we decided we wanted to try for a baby (which was the main reason for getting married really). We got married 3 months after deciding we wanted to.

[Ephiny]

I don't think there was a definite 'ready' moment for me either. It had been 10 years and I was in no doubt about whether we wanted to be together. It was just that when we decided to start a family we thought it might be sensible to get the legal paperwork sorted out sooner rather than later.

And there wasn't anything to be 'ready' for really. Life after marriage is pretty much the same as before :)

[BalmainMummy]

Met at 20 (friends)
Together at 21
Engaged at 22
Married at 23
First Child together at 24

We are fast movers and so in love that we couldnt imagine waiting to commit to each other. Whats the point in waiting silly amounts of time when you know that its right, one of us could get knocked over by a bus tomorrow! You have to grab love when you can.

[Losingexcessweight]

Got married at 24, exactly one year and two days later than our first date.

Got engaged 4 months after meeting

Been married 7 months and have a 3 month old baby

[Whippoorwhill]

Met at 18, engaged and married at 24.
First child at 28, second child at 30. We are both now 47.

Oh lord, I've just realised that we will have been together 30 years this year. There have been ups and downs of course but I love the very bones of him.

[firesidechat]

Married at 20. Husband was 26.

Been happily married for 28 years.

[WizardofOs]

Aged 27 been together 4 years before. Been married 12 years .

[firesidechat]

Really wish there was an edit feature on this site.

We were friends before we went out with each other.
Dated for 3 months and then engaged for 3 months.
We both just knew we were right for each other.

[EvenBetter]

Married on our 6th anniversary when I was 26 after a 9 month engagement. Had been wanting it for the previous 4-ish years!

[meditrina]

First discussed permanency/marriage after about 6 months, informally engaged after a year, formal announcements after another 6 months, wedding 6 months after that (so about 2 years total). I was 26 when we married, 3xchildren in my 30s, still together.

[ScooseIsLoose]

Married at 27 we had been together for five years. We have now been married for nearly four years and together for nine.

[Wideboy]

Broke off an engagement to be with now wife in 1973 at 22 years old. Hardest thing I have ever had to do but we married in 1976 and have had a great time since (well most of the time). Agree with other posters about growing up together and married life being an adventure. I tell her all the time that the best thing I ever did in my life was to marry her.

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

We got married at 26 after being together for 8 years.