Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after.
Oh, fairy tales! How sweet.
In the real world, though, things never quite turn out this way. The average person will have multiple partners before getting married and whether that marriage lasts is literally a flip of the coin.
But what happens after two people get married isn’t the bone we’re chewing today. Our focus here is on answering the question: how long should you date before getting married?
Is there a one-size-fits-all formula? Is there a magic number?
Keep reading for the complete scoop.
How Long Should You Date Before Getting Married?
The short of it is there’s no specific answer. This is because people are different. Relationships are different.
Some people have married a couple of months after meeting and had blissful, fulfilling marriages. Others courted for several years before eventually tying the knot and settling into a sweet marriage.
There are others who wed a short time after meeting and ended the marriage soon after. Others date for years upon years before marrying, only for the marriage to last a fortnight.
In other words, there really isn’t a specific timeline. It largely depends on how love strikes you and the depth of the connection you develop with someone. Check out good Filipino dating website to make sure you find your suitable partner.
What Does Research Say?
When you filter through the various timeframes couples across the world have taken from courtship to marriage, you’ll find somewhat of a middle ground. Certainly, marital researchers have conducted thousands of surveys on this all-important how long to date before marriage issue.
In a 2017 Bridebook.co.uk Marriage Report, it was established that U.K. couples took an average of 4 years and 9 months before tying the knot.
In the United States, one survey found that it takes 3 years and 3 months for couples to enter into a formal engagement, with marriage following up shortly after.
From these numbers, we can conclude that anything from 3 to 5 years seems to be the norm for most people. Conventional wisdom also tells us that this is a fairly adequate amount of term to learn more about your date and determine whether they have the qualities you’re looking for in a person you’d love to marry and be with till the end time or the day you die whichever comes earlier.
Wisdom of the Sages: Take Your Time
In life, it’s important to listen to the wise; people who have lived through it all.
That being said, you really don’t need a sage to know that you should take your time before getting married. It’s not a competition, for heaven’s sake. There’s no reward for getting married as quickly as possible; neither is there a punishment for taking as long as you want.
Go on several dates. Take your time. And then, naturally, almost magically, marriage will come into the picture. After which you can hire a planner like Lakeside Weddings to help you organize a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Get Married When It’s the Right Time for You to Marry
So, how long should you date before getting married?
If there’s anything to take away from this article, it’s you should get married when you feel it’s the right time for you to get married; when you’ve found a partner with who you share the same goals, aspirations, and views on almost everything that matters to you.
Happy dating, don’t forget to keep reading our blog for more relationship and marriage insights!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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