Average Marriage Age
 

I heard today (yes, I watch way too much E!) that the average age for women to get married is 25, and for men 27. There's still hope for me, yet!

I remember thinking as a child that if I didn't get married by the age of 23 my life would be over,lol. I'll be 23 in 6 months.:(

I always said I would wait until I was at least 26 to get married...I'll be 25 next month and my husband and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary...:confused:

I've also heard that the more education one gets, the later he/she marries. So if you're planning on getting a PhD, you're probably looking at being a 30-something bride!

Re: Average Marriage Age
 

Wow, I guess they'll consider me a spinster if I don't marry by this August then.

You said you got this from E! ? No offense, but where exactly did they get their "facts"?

That's the national statistic. They say it's lower here in Oklahoma, but I can find no data to support that claim (although I suspect it's true).

I always thought I'd be married by 30. I am 30 now and obviously not married. Actually as 30 got closer I kept thinking "35 would be a good age to get married...no rush." Once that gets closer I'll probably start thinking 40 is the perfect age...this will go on til I'm 85 or so, thinking "90...now that's the time to get married!" :D

...

Marriage and divorce is the focus of my dissertation. The average age for first marriage is what E reported. It has gotten progressively higher over the last few years because people are getting more education, delaying childbirth, wanting to live indepedently before marriage, living together instead of getting married and because we are just living longer that it's not necessary to rush to the alter. There is no hard and fast rule that this is stopping more divorces from occuring, delaying marriage that is, you have a better chance at sustaining the marriage if you are a bit older usually because you know how to compromise and have experienced a bit of life on your own before the marriage.

As a kid, I thought if you didn't get married by 25 you were a spinster.

Then I was like...I won't get married before 30

I got married at 34...17 days from my 35th birthday

I definitely believe you should not marry before 25...I know if I had, I would be divorced by now

You've got to think, there are still people out there getting married REALLY young, so that whole average is in there. My mom got married when she was 19, met my dad in high school, and they've now been married 27 years. I'm sitting here thinking, if I were her I'd have my first child now and be pregnant with the second... hard to imagine!

I don't know what time is the "right" time to get married. I think some people may do well being married at 17 or 18, but I think it's highly unlikely. For me, I'm still committment-phobic... they had something the other day in a magazine or something telling women to watch out for signs that they were with a commitment-phobic, and I met every last one of them! I know that I'm not ready, but I think too many people think too quickly that they are. Though, I gotta admit, it would be nice to have the GUY.

Around here, people start wondering about you if you're not at least close to getting engaged by age 25. I mean, 25 is pretty much a spinster around here, where a lot of people get married right after high school or, at the very least, during or right after college. I'm like a lot of y'all, though...when I was younger I thought I'd be married by now (I'm 23), but the older I get the younger I feel so I'm thinking my sister had the right idea by waiting til she was 33. I think 25 and 27 as average ages sounds reasonable, though, taking into account areas like mine. We're getting better, though...the youngest person that I know of who got married was 14, but there were only a couple of those when I was in school and so far my sister says none of her middle-school classmates are getting hitched, so we're on the right track. :p

I never thought I HAD to get married by a certain age. I just always said I would never marry before I was 25. I'll be 24 in september. No sings of getting married by 25 either. It doesn't matter.
My mum was 26 when she got married. 30 when she had me. I think that's a good age. My parents have been married for 28 years.

OHG! How do you get married at 14? What kind of life do you think you'll have!?
When I was 14 I was getting my parents to drive me and my girlfriends to the movies and we were still talking about boys and jellybeans (a la Family Guy ;) )

That's just crazy!

Re: Average Marriage Age
 

I guess that makes me exactly average. I'll be 25, he'll be 27. That's a little freaky, actually :)

Don't worry, Lady Pi Phi, I read somewhere that the age of the average bride in Ontario was something along the lines of 28 or so. So you're safe :)

Re: Re: Re: Average Marriage Age
 

I could never live up to your high standards, but I try. Will you take me under your wing, oh mysterious robot?

When I was younger I thought that I'd be married by now. I'm 25 and know that if I had gotten married a few years back I'd probably be getting divorced. :(

Ack! I feel like 25 is so young to be married. I don't think I will be able to handle commitment like that for a while.

Married as a teenager
 

I was one of those people who was married as a teenager. I was the last of my friendship group to get married. The first of my friends got married IN THE SEVENTH GRADE!!!! In rural communities, I believe that educational expectations are lower and family expectations are higher.....Many are on their second marriage now....This may sound badly, but I wonder about these "starter marriages."

Ironic...I was married as a teenager, but I am still married to the same fellow all of these years later and I hope to finish my doctorate soon.

:)
Silver

When I was younger, I thought I would be married or atleast planning the wedding by the time I was 25. I'll be 24 in May, and there is still no sign of marriage, but I guess you never know. I can handle 26-28 though! :D

I really don't want to be married until my late-2os... I am having fun and enjoying time with my friends. Not to say I wouldn't mind having a long engagement though...

There is a certain security ina long engagement . . . kind of like not wanting your cake now, but having it in the freezer for later. ;)

And I saw a study in a paper-- can't remember which, but major that said singles in urban areas like NYC, LA, SF, etc are more likely not to marry until their LATE 30s.

Bottom line--each region is different. I am in my mid 30s and most of my friends are coupled, but not married. And no one is upset about it, we wouldn't have wanted to be married younger.

Re: Re: Re: Average Marriage Age
 

Everyone keeps reminding me that the older the guy is, the more money he's likely to have and therefore, he can afford a bigger rock. ;)

My mom always had two rules for me about dating and marriage..
be single when I go to college and do not get engaged until after I graduate.. made sure to follow both and now I am single again.

Before I never really thought it was bad getting married at 23 or so, but right now I couldnt even imagine it. I think in a couple of years I might think differently though who knows.

Though now I am becoming a singleton. It seems that everyone is trying to set me up and ask me why I am single. I always use a quote from one my fav movies.. Bridget Jones Diary.. about us having scales under our clothes..

Re: Re: Re: Average Marriage Age
 

So how big are the diamonds? How much are they spending?

Better yet, how much does my future fiance have to make to buy me a 1.5-2 carat diamond? ;) :eek: ;)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Average Marriage Age
 

go to www.bluenile.com to get an idea... you can design your perfect ring there...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Average Marriage Age
 

THAT'S MY PLAN!!! Wait until he can afford Tiffany's and I can afford Vera Wang. LOL

I was 24 and Mr. ISUKappa was 27 when we were married. It seems to have worked out okay for us so far. I'll let you know in 40 years. :)

There are no hard and fast rules, you just have to do what you feel is best for you--if that's getting married when you're 20, great. If you want to wait until you're 35, super. Both of my sisters got married right after they graduated college (spent their Senior year engaged). One divorced after 3 years because her husband cheated on her. She has since remarried and is very happy. The other will be celebrating their 7th anniversary this year.

And if you want a big rock, date an enginerd who makes $$. That worked for me! :)

I read that the average for a first (starter) marriage was late 20s in NYC. Here is something about starter marriages.

*sniff* you still love me even though I'm nowhere near 25, right? I'll just be legally able to drink the champagne during the toast at our reception! But of course if for some Godforsaken reason we do divorce, I'll take you to a really nice dinner and you can "I told you so" alllllllllllll night long :p

ETA: But I still got a big rock! (and lots of little ones, too!) :D

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...3ed20000001610

Mr. Bunny makes me so proud sometimes *tear*

Well the cool thing (or maybe not so cool) is that as old as you are . . is as old as you have ever been . . so we always view life from that (to us) pinnacle of age. Not imagining how we might be later. . . how could we? It has never been later for us yet.

Anyhoo . . very few people have the detachment to also be able to think of themselves in the third person and use reference points that other people have gotten through experience . . such as Jill's comment.

Thats why we are all doomed to repeat the mistakes others already made lol.

I know this sounds weird. But I dont like the really big diamonds. I dont like anything bigger then one carat.... they look fake on me.

Anyone else out there who doesn't like big diamonds...no problem; just send 'em my way! ;)

Let's see, I was 24 when I tied the knot the first time and Mr. KR was 26. The second time, I had just turned 25 but he was still 26. Not sure which one counts?

Wow - married twice in two years? That's quick, but it's worked for you, huh?

I always said I didn't care what ring I got (it could be from a Cracker Jack box a la "Breakfast at Tiffany's") if it was the right guy. But I don't mind big diamonds and I wouldn't turn down two to three carats - as long as it is a good cut and clarity/color!

Haha, I guess I should have clarified better. Some of you who don't know me probably think I'm a serial bride!

When Mr. KR and I were engaged but our church wedding was still 7 months away, we decided to get married by a Justice of the Peace and not tell anyone because he was concerned that I didn't have health insurance. So we got married, I got my Navy dependants' benefits, then we got married in a church ceremony a few months later.

All of our friends knew we were already married, but our parents don't know to this day (13 years later!). We thought for sure one of our friends would get wasted at the reception and blurt something out, but thankfully that didn't happen!

Oh, that is so romantic and sweet. Thanks for sharing.

The issue of "starter marriages," as well as the book, have previously been discussed on GC. If anyone is really concerned with the phenomenon, I would suggest reading the book. With a wedding on the horizon, it really made me think about certain things--like putting too much emphasis on the wedding instead of the marriage, creating your own financial stability, and getting married because YOU want to, not because of societal expectation.

I have serious issues with assigning an arbitrary age upon which to get married, as I've said before. I know very self-aware 19 year olds who have been on their own, supporting themselves, since the age of 15 or 16, and I know 28 year olds who are totally pampered and sheltered. Just because one person is older doesn't mean that they should be getting married.

I agree with you, Munchkin. It's not so much a matter of chronological age as it is emotional maturity and stability. Even still, if anyone wanted my advice, from experience I can tell you that getting married before 25 (or at least before you finish your education) is a huge mistake. But hey, it's my opinion and would not dispense it as fact. Just a lesson from the school of hard knocks.