Well, ladies and gents, there are reasons to get married, and there are reasons not to get married.
Although the thought of everyone gazing at you as you walk down the aisle in your fairytale wedding dress - if you're a lady, that is - the gazillion unusual wedding gifts bought just for you, and the personalised wedding champagne just waiting to be drank sounds all very pleasant, your marriage could end in tears and result in a divorce if you marry for the wrong reasons.
No matter how strong or determined you feel you or your partner to be, you owe it to yourself (and them) to avoid tying the knot for any of the below reasons.
1.
An unplanned pregnancy Fair enough, if you're in love with someone (and they with you), and a sudden pregnancy prompts the wedding bells, then sure, go for it.
However, if you get pregnant by some random bloke you drunkenly slept with in the pub loos, it's a big NO-NO.
Your potential child deserves a solid, stable environment, as do you, and it's pretty doubtful that your situation is going to resemble this if you marry someone you've only known a couple of months (or minutes).
So don't expect to make it to your first wedding anniversary.
Plus, who wants to say thank-you for all those 1st wedding anniversary gifts anyway?! 2.
Tick-tock, biological clock! Are you a 30-something-year-old female who's been saving yourself for Mr.
Right, but suddenly, you've come to the conclusion that he doesn't actually exist? Pleeeeease steer clear of the next guy you see who falls in love with you.
Admittedly, you might've been a little too pernickety over the years and missed the boat a few times, but that's no reason to go marrying Bob the builder or Paul the pub owner purely for the reason that he's latched onto you over the last couple of years.
And just because the fittie in your local cafe gives you extra mayo in your tuna sarnie, that does not mean his love will last.
So save the nuptials (and the wedding presents!) for another time.
3.
"It's the next logical step!" If you decide to get married because you aren't sure where to take things next, or just because he/she asks, you can scrap all hope of wedded bliss, of celebrating your future wedding anniversaries or receiving wedding anniversary champagne, wedding anniversary presents etc.
etc.
etc.
, because divorce is more likely.
If your partner's pressurising you into marriage, you don't owe them your hand in marriage unless you're ready to give it.
4.
The "gold digger" marriage Thinking of marrying a man/woman for their wonga? Their pension plan, perhaps? Or the umpteen personalised wedding gifts and other paraphernalia that comes with the nuptial celebration? Don't bother.
There are no guarantees that their bank account will stay filled, or that their job will stay safe.
A marriage built on financial dependency, materialism or lust is like building a house on a beach.
When the storm hits, the house - or your marriage - will fall apart.
5.
Because everyone else is or your family want you to If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you? Didn't think so.
It's better to be the last one standing than the first one to fall, right? Indian families, Middle Eastern families and tons of other cultures are full of parents who insist their kiddies marry someone they don't really want to marry.
If you've got one of those parents who's a constant fly in your ear, nagging you to get on with it and tie the ol' knot, you might decide the only way to silence the noise is to get hitched.
But folks, the noise will get even louder if you're miserably married or when you're going through the dreaded divorce.
Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT let your family decide who you marry! 6.
To have a fairytale wedding The wedding dress...
the mountain of unique wedding gifts...
the thought of cutting the cake together with the fancy engraved wedding cake knife...
Have you dreamed of your wedding day since you were a wee one? Just think, the longer you wait, the more creative you can be, and the more dosh you can put towards it.
Ask yourself: would you marry your sweetheart in the back garden with no one watching? If you want a swanky wedding, then most probably not.