Why did you get married??

[grub17]

for us, it was the next step iykwim. I got sick of explaining we weren't married and having different surnames. We also wanted to have a family name for when we had children. I also wanted to "lock in" my man lol ... not that he was going anywhere i suppose! However, that's all just practicality.

Emotionally something special happened the night we got engaged. I can't put words to it, we were just so much closer and really truly felt like a unit. it was just so amazing to feel free like that and so full of love and good vibes... it was 1000 times better again on our wedding day.

the wedding itself was amazing and I love being married to my DH. I love we declared ourselves for each other only in front of all our family and friends and made commitments to each other through our vows. It certainly, for us, added another dimension to our relationship and a deeper feeling. a deeper sense of connectedness that I really didn't appreciate or understand til I got married.

But it really is a horses for coarses sort of thing. it works for us but thesedays I also don't think it's the be all and end all of relationships iykwim.

[mummy of 3 boys]

this is very interesting

i have currently been with my DF for just over 8 yrs and we only just got engaged on christmas day we currently have 2 children together ( we were together for 5yrs before we had our first baby and 8yrs for our second)
i never was a big believer in getting married i never really understood the whole concept of it, we had kids and i finally decided i really wanted to get married and DF i think also finally realised he wanted to marry me so we all have the same surname and can actually be classed as the 'C***** Family' which to me now makes sense i am excited to take on his last name and actually have the same name as my children instead of telling everyone their lastname is different to mine
We have also lived with each other since we were together for about 5 months, quick i know but just how things turned out and i wouldnt change anything for the world of me, i will agree with everyone else though that kids do change things but as my DF said if we can have kids and stick together then why not get married its nothing different really but a ring and a piece of paper to declare our love witch we already know whereas kids are a totally different thing!!!
Nothing has changed we both love each other still the same and im sure getting married well we both are excited about it but also dont think it will change much except for the fact i'll be his wife and he'll be my husband instead of just my partner/fiance

im now excited but mighty nervous to get married next year! we are planning on getting married on our 10yr anniversary

may i also add we both come from broken families which i guess could also play part in why we have waited so long to get married also

[alish]

i moved in with my now dh 3 weeks after meeting him, bought a house 1.5 yrs later, engaged, and then married after being together for 2 years.. for us, we were so in love (still are) it just seemed like the next step for us, and the right thing for us, as everything else moved so quickly.. plus we wanted to be married before we started a family!

i couldnt imagine doing it any other way, or with anybody else!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I wanted to get married, DH wanted to get married - we met each other and would have pretty happily married each other after about 4 months! Except for I wouldn't get the wedding I had planned for all my life. We had to be engaged three years so I could get that.

I don't know if it would have lasted - we had some odd years together as an engaged couple. Marriage hasn't changed that much about us, nor has having children: we always took each other a bit for granted and stayed in a lot LOL!

[Yeddi]

I married the man I loved because I'm a traditionalist and it was the next step, but mostly I felt that taking that time, and expense (although it doesn't need to be $$$) to get up in front of friends, family, and even strangers to make a formal declaration of commitment provides a level of security - even if it's just mental (although there are still a few legal rights that are automatic or at least easier to enforce in comparison to being defacto) - for both of us and our children.

We didn't live together before we got married, so marriage changed us quite a lot, but that is most probably more learning how to live with someone else, making joint rather than individual decisions - that sort of thing. I agree with the others that children change the relationship more, because you both take on new roles in relation to each other and a third (or fourth/fifth etc) party.

[Fleur]

Because I figured 'why not'.

We had been together for a year & were talking about having a baby (I already had Panda), my younger sister asked if she could be a flowergirl when we got married & that kicked off the conversation.
Not to sound too fickle about it but I also knew of couples who had been together 7+ years, gotten married & then separated a year or so later. I thought there wasn't much point in waiting if you were comitted, you may as well go ahead & do it.
I was 19 and I knew that we would change & grow over the years.. I said to my uncle on my wedding day if we got 5 good years I figured it would be worth it. We had our 14th wedding anniversary this month, so I guess it was worth doing

ETA - as for changing things - it didn't really, although I think possibly it did make me feel more cemented within the relationship. Maybe. Our relationship has changed an awful lot over the years though, it is definitley not the same as it was when we married.