DH asked - he wanted to be married because his parents had a long and happy marriage. i wasn't sure - my folks relationship is anything but healthy so i was a bit jaded about the idea. we talked about it and realised we wanted to be together for life, so he proposed to me the night before he met my (ill) grandmother. We got married only a year after we got together because he wanted for my nan to be there to see her last grandchild married. Unfortunately, she was too ill to be there, and her sight had failed so she didn't get to see photos - but she was knew we were married and we were happy. She died four days before our first wedding anniversary (2 years to the day after DH and I got together)

Being married was never going to be crucial to us being happy - but it was a chance to celebrate our relationship with our friends after a year of crap. changing my name from my fathers name (a man i detest) to the name of a man i love and respect was a huge thing for me. and now that we have DD, sharing a family name makes me a much happier person