As young girls, we’re taught that we should dream about wedding gowns, what our wedding should look like and who should we marry. We are often bombarded with this idea that life after marriage is perfect and that we should all aspire to marry and settle down. However, you can have an entirely successful relationship without the wedding.
Marriage is often defined as a stepping stone or a key event in someone’s life. However, the pressure of marriage can force the relationship to move faster than normal. Without the stress of having a wedding, the relationship has the freedom to move organically. You can move at your own pace and let your relationship be what you want it do be, not what others say it should. You can progress without putting pressure on yourself to achieve any milestones set by society.
We are all different, and the relationships we have are not all the same. If you don’t think that marriage is the right step for your relationship and that you function better without the pressure of legal commitment, there is no reason to force yourselves into something you are not ready for.
People often assume you don’t want to legalize your relationship and stand at the altar because you are not sure about your significant other or want more time to explore. If this is the case, that’s okay too! However, in most relationships, there are emotional obligations with or without the marriage. You can set the boundaries for your relationship how you want without the pressure from society about what a relationship should look like.
More often than not, marriages can be quite expensive. You can prioritize and spend the money elsewhere. Buying a house or spending money on trips or saving it for your kids can be a valuable reason to skip the wedding. Since we are in the 21st century, no one would question living together before marriage or having kids. Marriage is truly just a social construct and isn’t a guarantee for a successful relationship.
