Marriage Age

[WCsweet<3]

Marriage and weddings have been on my mind lately with having one of my friends be married at 22 and posts on this site about a 16 year old girl being married. I then found this article http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...?se=yahoorefer

I know marriage age differs due to circumstances, region, religious beliefs, cultural influences, personality, family etc.

I cannot figure out how to post a poll so please just respond.
In your culture or region what age is appropriate for marriage?
before-18
18-20
20-25
25-30
30+

[AlphaFrog]

When you're both ready.

Marriages fail with couples of all ages. There isn't a perfect age. I have a friend whose parents got married at 17, and they're still married and happy almost 30 years later. My aunt's been married in her 20s, 30s, and now she just got remarried again in her 40s for the 4th time, and we'll see how long this one lasts.

[WCsweet<3]

I wasn't meaning necessarily for the perfect age. I need to edit my first post. In my region, marriage in the late 20s is most common. People tend to look down on marriages earlier than that.

[AlphaFrog]

I'm sticking to my answer.

There's something about putting an age on marriage... too young, and you're criticized for not being ready, but then one day, you cross a line and if you aren't married, you're an old maid.

I think of it the same way as tha paradox of makeup...when you're younger, you use makeup to make yourself look older. Then, one day, you wake up and decide you're old enough, and you start using makeup to make yourself look younger.

[DSTRen13]

I'd say around here (south Georgia), it's most common to get married in your early to mid-20s (for women) and late 20s to early 30s (for men). But there really is a whole range, and I wouldn't say that any age is really looked down too strongly "in this day and age". My husband and I were both 23 when we got married.

[awkward1]

I was married at 23 and we are still going strong! Most of my college friends married their college sweethearts right out of college and so far none have gotten a divorce. *cross fingers*

[preciousjeni]

I was 27 which was a little young in my opinion. If it weren't for that biological clock, it would be nice to allow people a chance to get through their twenties before marriage - not just because of age, but because the twenties are pretty turbulent already with school, first jobs, first homes, etc.

[Benzgirl]

I haven't had one friend marry before the age of 28 in over 20 years. Most were over 30. Every one of those friends are still married.

I think that is because most were already settled into their careers and had enough money saved to go into their relationship without a huge amount of debt. I think they were also emotionally mature to make decisions: to stand up to nagging in-laws, to avoid jumping into having kids or buying too many things to keep up with the Joneses.

Is this common for the region? No, but I don't think there IS a standard. Is it common for my group of friends? Yes, but also because most of them go on to grad school or law school before jumping into a life-long commitment.

[aephi alum]

Aside from laws about how old you must be to marry in your state/province/country, there really is no "right age".

That said, among my friends and acquaintances in my age group, there have been two "waves" of weddings. Some of us got married within a couple of years of college graduation; others got married in their late 20's.

[OneTimeSBX]

im 27 and cant imagine getting married yet...

[KSUViolet06]

I think 23-24 is probably the average in my area, since that's the age when most people are graduating from college and getting into their careers.

I know I might get flamed a bit, but I personally think any of the girls I've ever met who were 18, 19, 20 and married were just kind of, weird.

Where I'm from, the girls who got married young like that were the girls who "didn't go to college because they were married and didn't need to, because they wanted to start their families and you don't need an education to be a mommy (actual quote from my friend's married cousin who's 19)" and thought that Stanford was in Japan (yes, a girl actually said that to me). Either that, or they had some sort of reason like a baby or an impending deployment, which made them feel like they had to get married.

I also find that the girls who got married right after HS were divorced within two years and left with typically 2 kids. They then became the "socially awkward 22 year old divorcee" who parties like I did when I was 18 (because her social growth is a bit stunted).

Now I am NOT saying that every single young married girl is like that, but that's just my experience with my regional area. People just generally don't get married young under normal circumstances around here. I know that there are some areas, like where my extended family is from in Alabama, where getting married immediately after HS is completely normal.

[AOII_LB93]

I have to ask, is it common for women in N. Texas to get married super early? My SIL moved out there a couple years ago and is having a hard time finding men to date in her age range as most have already been married with or without kids. She's 27 and never been married...she says they all seem shocked that she's not already been married at her age.

Crap, I got married at 29 almost 30...so we know I am out of the "norm" for a good part of the country.

[amanda6035]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I think 22-24 is probably the average in my circle, since that's the age when most people are graduating from college and getting into their careers.

I know I might get flamed a bit, but I personally think any of the girls I've ever met who were 18, 19, 20 and married were just kind of, weird.

Where I'm from, the girls who got married young like that were the girls who "didn't go to college because they were married and didn't need to, because they wanted to start their families" and thought that Stanford was in Japan (yes, a girl actually said that to me). Either that, or they had some sort of reason like a baby or an impending deployment, which made them feel like they had to get married.

I also find that the girls who got married right after HS were divorced within two years and left with typically 2 kids. They then became the "socially awkward 22 year old divorcee" who parties like I did when I was 18 (because her social growth is a bit stunted).

Now I am NOT saying that every single young married girl is like that, but that's just my experience with my regional area. I know that there are some areas, like where my extended family is from in Alabama, where getting married immediately after HS is completely normal.

Nope. That sounds about right. Bravo for saying it like it is.

*edit* I was 26, my husband, who had been married once before (at 19) was 29 when we got married.

[fantASTic]

19 to 23. It is very common here to get married very young - many of my sisters are engaged.

[christiangirl]

I have noticed that about 20 or so friends got married/engaged this year. All are under 25, most under 23. Personally, think that's a little young but a good number of these people dated all throughout high school and college, so it's not like they're rushing. However, there are quite a few outside of those 20 who broke off their engagements or had their marriages annulled. Most of them fall in the under 20 group. Honestly, I think if you toast with sparkling cider at your wedding because you're not old enough for champagne, you're probably too young.

When I was a child, I always thought I'd be married right out of college but forget that now! As much as I complain () I'm quite happy being single. Even a bf would cramp me right around now with school and work taking up so much of my time. I travel a lot and am excited about moving next year because I get to pick wherever I want to go. If I were married, I couldn't do that. I think anywhere between 25-30 would be fine with me, maybe even a little past that.