Why Get Married?

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A friend asked me this question last week. Why am I getting married? Mr. Warbler and I already live together (in sin), we share finances and we both are in agreement that we're not having any children. Getting married won't change anything in our lives, so why bother?

My friend makes a lot of sense. But marriage does change your relationship. I've seen it happen to my parents, my siblings and we've all seen it happen to celebrities. I don't know if being married adds pressure to a relationship or reminds you of your impending mortality, but there's a reason 50% of marriages end in divorce. I think being married forces couples to be openly honest about all of the things they might have been hiding while dating. And the truth isn't always pretty. It's often ugly and unwanted.

I believe there are plenty of reasons to get married. People get married for financial reasons, for security, because the condom broke (hey, it happens) and sometimes people even get married for love. Lucky for me I fall into that last category.

Why am I getting married? I never seriously thought about marriage before I met Mr. Warbler. Sure I imagined a wedding, flowers and a beautiful dress, but I never gave a second thought to a marriage. I have a handsome, caring, hilarious man in my life who gets me. He knows when I pretend like I don't want ice cream but am secretly DYING for a scoop. He knows when I need to cry and when I need to laugh. I couldn't really ask for anything more than that.

Getting married won't change any of that. But to me it's the final step in solidifying all of that. There's something beautiful about being able to look into his eyes and know that he belongs to me and I belong to him. Besides how could I not marry a man who will try this hard to make me laugh?

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