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Original poster

What age would you consider young to marry?

160 replies

cerealchops · 05/04/2023 17:31

Just that, really

It seems frowned upon if you’re under 25 in our circles, most people assume we want a long engagement but we just want to get straight on with planning!

OP posts:
TomatoSandwiches · 05/04/2023 19:49

I was married at 23 and am not quite 40 yet, I would consider that young but my DH and I are quite old souls, practical people, marriage suits us and was an important step before having children.

I would say for the majority marriage doesn't suit most at any age.

Notateacheranymore · 05/04/2023 19:50

DH and I are just planning a party for our silver wedding and we are both 47. When he told MIL that we had decided to get engaged 3 1/2 years before that, she cautioned him about how young he was. He pointed out that by the time would reach our planned wedding date (I was at uni and he was training in the RAF when we got engaged), we would be older than any of our parents AND not pregnant, which both mums were.

That stumped her, which is very unusual for my MIL - a wonderful, intelligent, caring woman who I love very much, especially as my mum died of cancer 13 days after we married. Really glad we didn’t wait around!

Cliffordthebigreddog · 05/04/2023 20:21

30+ years ago it seemed normal to marry in your early 20’s but now it seems crazily young! If anyone under 30 gets married now I think it won’t last! Maybe it’s because my children are now into their late teens early twenties and they are still kids really!

Lcb123 · 05/04/2023 20:28

Nowadays - under 25. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it

NotCopingWell1 · 05/04/2023 20:31

I was 24. We had been together nearly five years. I'm now 31 and I think it was a bit young. If DD marries I'd like her to be late 20s onwards.

UsingChangeofName · 05/04/2023 20:32

Under 25 - human brains and bodies are still developing until around 25, so younger than that is 'young' IMO.
Younger than 27 or 28 is quite young in terms of "people I know" though.

LaundryAllDay · 05/04/2023 20:33

I personally got married at 18 and have been happily married for over 25 years.I had our children at 19,22 and 24.

Not everyone wants to wait until they are in their 30's or 40's,but if that works for them that's cool too.
And CONGRATULATIONS!❤️

NotTooOldPaul · 05/04/2023 20:37

I was 26 and my wife was 19 when we got married.
I was 52 and my wife was 45 when we split up and then got divorced.

LynetteScavo · 05/04/2023 20:38

I know two people aged 23 who married each other recently and I thought that was young. I think under 21 is too young, under 25 is young and over 25 is what I'd expect. DH's plan was to marry aged 30...then he met me and the rest is history Grin We were 26.

LuluBlakey1 · 05/04/2023 20:39

DH and I were almost 30 when we met and almost 31 when we got married- that was almost 13 years ago. I felt like that was quite late at the time but now it seems much more the norm. I think anything under 25/26 is young to be getting married now.

OzempicClicker · 05/04/2023 20:39

Under 30.

MirenaMisery · 05/04/2023 20:40

I got married at 17- he was 18. We are still married 13 years later ☺️ It's about maturity not age.

Hbh17 · 05/04/2023 20:42

These days, under 30. Education, career and housing should all take priority, and those take time.

Houseyvibe · 05/04/2023 20:43

I’ve got a 20 year old. I sincerely hope he doesn’t get married before he’s 30. I was 27, with hindsight it was so young

BooksAndHooks · 05/04/2023 20:45

Not sure really, it very much depends on the couple. We were 20 and 21, had three children by 28. Most people I know were married mid 20s.

honeyfox · 05/04/2023 20:47

Probably under 25. But most people around my age (45) that I know would have been mid thirties at least when they got married.

FuckingHateRats · 05/04/2023 20:47

We married when I was 21 and DH was 24. Had been together since I was 17/he was 20.

We were definitely young, and an anomaly in our friendship groups. I was still at uni and everyone else was still shagging around.

We've just celebrated 15 years of marriage, and at a wedding what feels like every other month because all our pals are finally catching up!

QueSyrahSyrah · 05/04/2023 20:48

In my circles the youngest weddings I've been to have been late 20s.

I'd consider under 25 to be young, but I'm probably biased by having seen all the couples I knew in my early 20s split up by 30. None had made the marriage commitment though.

Frenchfancy · 05/04/2023 20:51

I'm actually surprised at these answers. I married at 22 (29 years ago). I was the first of my peer group to marry, but others followed within the next 5 years or so. My DD1 is now of that age and the first wedding invitations are starting to fall and I know of several couples who are likely to be married before 25.

Surely it is better to marry for love and enjoy life together before starting a family rather than waiting for the clock to start ticking.

Phoebo · 05/04/2023 20:52

Under 25, live your life, travel, discover yourself, learn to be independent. Probably even 30, committing to another person for life is a very long time

Mylittlesandwich · 05/04/2023 20:55

We were the first of our friends to get married. I was 22 DH was 28 and this was in 2014. Still happily married with DS who is 3.

aNewYorkerInLondon · 05/04/2023 20:58

23 when I married my first. Way too young.

Most people are entirely different people in their early 20s than they are in their 30s and 40s. The lucky early marriages stay happy because they grow in the same direction, but I think that it's much better to wait until your 30s.

At 42, I feel like I have a lot on common with 32-year-old me, but nothing in common with 22-year-old me. At 30, when my ex and I split, I was an entirely different (and better, imo) person than when we married.

LT2 · 05/04/2023 20:59

I was 26. I'd say 25 and under is young, but not saying it's too young.

Aphrathestorm · 05/04/2023 21:01

I'd say under 28 is young now. Under 31 for a man.

Couples younger than that just seem to cohabit?

FourTeaFallOut · 05/04/2023 21:05

Dh and I got married at 25 and 23. I think that was young but not unusually so. Still happily married 20 years later.