How Long Should You Date Before Marriage: Important Things to Consider

You are wildly, mind-numbingly, hopelessly in love. However, a slight problem keeps you up at night. You’ve been dating for only a few weeks or maybe months, but you can already hear the sound of upcoming wedding bells. Seems crazy, doesn’t it? Your brain is just yelling at you to wait, while your heart is urging you forward to make a serious step. How to harness your emotions and take the right decision? How long should you wait to get married? Let’s make sense of it all!

Why it’s Worth Dating before Marriage

Before answering the question “how long does the average relationship last before marriage”, we should clarify the importance of dating itself. Many loving couples are so in hurry to plunge into family life that they skip all relationship milestones and then face problems wondering what went wrong. So why is dating before marriage a good idea?

• You get to know your partner better. Family life is often full of responsibilities and sometimes gets so busy that you just don’t have time to be with each other. And dating gives you every opportunity to develop a deeper level of understanding of your partner, explore their inner world, and learn about the preferences, beliefs, and life goals of your beloved.
• You develop strong emotional intimacy. During dating, you are gradually learning about the inner struggles, worries, and problems of your partner. Thus, you create the strong emotional connection essential for building a healthy relationship.
• You learn to solve problems together. Life difficulties may arise at any moment, and it’s important to overcome them as quickly as possible. If you are together, any problem becomes half as scary. After all, you are not alone, you can always rely on your loved one. However, if your partner disappears at the slightest difficulty, this is a clear sign that marriage is not so good idea for you.

How Long to Wait Before Proposing: Perfect Time for Marriage

Is there any time frame concerning the issue of “how long should you date before getting married?” This question bothers many couples seeking to build a happy family. After all, marriage is one of the most important decisions in the life of every person, so it should be treated correspondingly.

In fact, there’s no magic formula to determine how long to date before engagement. Everything is subjective and individual when it comes to romantic relationships. Moreover, the very perception of marriage and dating as a whole largely depends on the place where you live and the social standards established in your country. So, beautiful Eastern European women and their grooms usually wed at the age of 23-25. In the US, the situation is about the same in the last few years. Whereas Asian couples take longer to decide on engagement, so they often walk down the aisle around the age of 27-29. Hot Latin women and men need less time to date before marriage – their family life starts when they are in their 20s.

According to Dr. Wyatt Fisher, a psychologist who specializes in interpersonal relationships and marriage, the younger the newlyweds, the more problems they will have while building a family. The fact is that people change a lot at the age of 18-22, they continue to mature, reshaping their life views and beliefs. So by tying the knot at such an early age, they run the risk of waking up one fine day realizing that they have nothing in common with the person whom they once considered “the one and only”. Therefore, it’s better to go through this stage of self-exploration, and then make a carefully-weighed decision about marriage. Although the recommended average engagement age is above 23 years, the exact time is very individual. If you are already 28 but still feel that you are not ready for marriage, there’s no reason to rush things.

Average Dating Time before Marriage Statistics

The average length of dating before engagement has changed a lot in recent decades. Dream singles dating site conducted its own investigation on this issue and interviewed 4 000 loving couples aged 26 to 40 years. As it turned out, their views on matrimony are much different from those of older generations. So, average relationships before marriage now last 4.5 – 5 years. Interestingly, 89% of newlyweds reported that they had lived together for about 3.5 years before taking their relationship to the next level.

The study showed that the younger generation is in no hurry to tie the knot. Instead, lovers prefer to devote more time to developing their relations and achieving financial stability. Many of them feel completely comfortable in a marriage “without papers” and talk about legalizing their relationship only when they are about to have children. Some psychologists believe that the main reason for such a trend is the fear of divorce among young people. While the number of marriage breakdowns in the United States is decreasing, the divorce rate is gradually growing in the countries of Eastern Europe. So many Slavic women and men tend to marry later.

Moreover, there’s evidence of an increase in the medium age of wedding couples in recent years. According to statistics from the United States Census Bureau, the average age of men and women who married in 1970 was 23 and 20, respectively. While nowadays, people are more willing to walk down the aisle at the age of 28-29. 

Key Factors to Consider Before Deciding How Long to Date before Marriage

How long to date before marriage in your 20s or 30s? Making such a big decision like matrimony at a young age has a huge impact on your future. While every couple has their own special time to take a relationship to the next level, there are still some tips on how to determine when you are ready to settle down. Keep them in mind when considering how long dating before relationship growth should last for you.

You know how to resolve conflicts

This applies to both partners. The way you handle various dating challenges is a testament to whether you will be able to strike compromises and resolve conflicts during your married life. It’s not a big deal if you quarrel, problems begin when you aren’t willing to repair the issue.

You share the values

Of course, each person is individual and you cannot force your partner to believe in what you do. It all boils down to having at least some similarities in what is dear to your heart. Therefore, it’s better if you share the views on family building, child raising, spiritual beliefs, etc.

You always find time for each other

Nowadays, two working spouses are no longer a rarity. No matter how busy your work schedule is, don’t forget that relationships can’t do without regular emotional touch-ups. So make sure you both prioritize family life over work.

You are sexually satisfied

An active sex life contributes to the healthy relationship development. It’s also important to enjoy the process, as prolonged sexual dissatisfaction doesn’t lead to anything good and may even contribute to a breakup. Just be open with your partner – communication is the key to good sex.

Recommended Average Length of Dating Before Marriage

Many couples in love are wondering “how long do people date before getting married?” when they are about to make their relationship more serious. Although the main reason to get married is feelings, some studies do confirm the existence of a certain “ideal” period of time to date before marriage.

So, one of the most interesting findings implies that the average time of dating before marriage directly affects the likelihood of divorce. For example, couples who were together for 1-2 years before tying the knot had a 20% lower chance of a marriage breakup. While 3-5 years of relationship lowered this probability to 50%!

Based on these data, most relationship experts advise dating at least 1 – 1.5 years before entering into family life. But the exact “ideal” period may vary from couple to couple. So how to figure out how long should you date before getting engaged? The best time to settle down is when you recognize all the complexities of such a relationship and are ready to deal with them. You must have a precise understanding of the importance and weight of marriage as a concept. Thus, you will be able to achieve maximum success in building a happy family.

Average Time of Engagement and Its Importance

Nowadays, becoming engaged is a very reverent and sentimental event. It’s about expressing a willingness to cast your lot with the person you love. In other words, this is the beginning of a new, bright stage in your relationship. Such a powerful event is remembered for a lifetime, so couples do their best to make this moment fabulous – the atmosphere of pure romance, flowers, sincere declarations of love, and of course, a shining ring. But engagement is more than that. A promise to be together for a lifetime is probably the most romantic thing one can ever hear. Why is it so important? How long to be engaged before marriage?

The length of engagement may vary from country to country. For example, Chinese brides and grooms stay engaged for about 2 years. Australians usually wait even longer before getting married – from 2 to 5 years. If we consider couples who live in the USA, their average engagement period lasts about a year, sometimes less. And the longer its duration, the more time the lovers have to prepare for the wedding ceremony.

Indeed, a long engagement gives you more time to plan everything down to the smallest detail, and there’s really a lot of work to do – make a list of guests, choose a venue and date for the wedding, come up with dishes and drinks, find the best dress for the bride and the most elegant outfit for the groom, and much more. What’s more, it’s no secret that getting married may cost you a pretty penny, so you need some time to fill up your piggy bank. All in all, engagement is a good way to show your chosen one your commitment and readiness for marriage.

Best Online Sites to Meet Gorgeous Brides

Now you know how long you should wait to marry someone. But this information will hardly be so useful until you have someone to wed. Fortunately, there are many online services to find a bride. So you can meet a lady from any corner of the world, be it Italian, Mexican, or Taiwan women for marriage. Each of the following 10 platforms will serve you well!

1. LoverWhirl – fast-growing dating service for quick and easy search for love in Asian countries.
2. ColombiaLady – worthy romantic environment for Colombian dating.
3. FindBride – multifunctional site to find a stunning Ukrainian bride matching your dating preferences.
4. EasternHoneys – large community of Asian ladies looking for meaningful relationships and marriage.
5. AsiaCharm – great place for connoisseurs of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean girls for marriage.
6. La-date – sure place to make a foreign acquaintance with hot Latin American ladies.
7. BravoDate – top-rated site offering advanced features for comfortable communication with awesome Ukrainian and Polish ladies looking for marriage.
8. Cebuanas – biggest dating site for meeting Filipino beauties and building serious relationships.
9. Japan Cupid – time-tested Asian dating app with optimized usability and many advantageous features.
10. TheLuckyDate – international platform to chat with Chinese, Polish, Ukrainian, and Kazakh sexy women.