Why is marriage important to you?

I like that, no matter what is going on in my life, I can go home at the end of the day and he’ll make it better without even trying. I’ll always have someone I can talk to about anything and he won’t judge, and always seems to understand. He’s the only person that I can sit around with all day doing nothing and still love every minute of it even 5 years later.

Of course, marriage isn’t a prerequisite for all of that, but they’re the reasons I married him. :)

@livelaughlove21 That is so sweet. That summed it up so great.

Marriage is a covenant. A formalizing of a promise inf front of the community that’s too easy to break or walk away from in our culture.

In good times, it is a comfort. In bad times, it is a bond that keeps us together long enough to work out problems.

Together, as a couple, we have built something lasting and joyous, something greater than the sum of its parts.

I have a logical proof seeking mind, and I tend to assume that people also think like me.

To me, marriage is important because I would like to provide proof that my words about how I feel are true.

It shows commitment, which is the deepest kind of love. It says ‘I love you now and I will love you until we die, I will love you when you are ill, poor, or have a huge ass.

It means, I haven’t got a desire for another person, (else I would need to keep this space available) so I feel confident enough to ‘give’ my time for life, which is my most precious asset.

It is also means, I love you during the day, on Fridays and also on Saturday evenings, along with every other day. Plus I could spend all day on Sunday doing nothing with you.

When asked if I would ever get married again, I often reply that “marriage” and “commitment” are mutually exclusive. I know that each can exist without the other… as I have experienced both. I currently have what @livelaughlove21 and @Shippy describe, without being married. We are engaged, but are waiting to get married for financial reasons. While there is a chance that my son might want to attend college full time and we’ll need financial aid, it makes more sense for me to remain single. I didn’t meet my fiancé until after my son was already out of High School, so I don’t think it would be fair for the government to expect him to contribute to my son’s education because we got married.

However, once my son is certain that he won’t be attending college full-time, or once he ages out of the requirement that the FAFSA looks at the parents’ income (it’s not totally clear to me if that’s at 25 or 26), then we will get married, for the rights and protections it will give us, as we will be hitting 50 in the next few years.

I am not a religious person. I got may marriage license in a courthouse, and sued (yes, that is the terminology) my alcoholic husband for divorce in a courthouse. Marriage is a legally binding contract between two adults (which remains my argument for allowing same-sex marriages).

I know that getting married to my fiancé won’t change anything between us. The dedication and devotion to one another is solid (and my ass is already huge!), and very evident to anyone that meets us, as most people assume we are married. The benefit to getting married is that we can be with each other should one be hospitalized (although, they let him sleep in my room when I had surgery 2 years ago, because they assumed he was my husband – something that won’t happen for same-sex couples). Marriage also allows one to make decisions for the other, should one become unable to do so.

@poisonedantidote Love your answer

Marriage is important to me because:
1) It’s a promise to be there for each other no matter what happens forever, good or bad, and that gives you a solid foundation (or me at least) to branch out more.
2) It’s basically living with your best friend, which is fun.
3) I believe in God, and I believe the sacrament of marriage is an important part of your religious beliefs. Treating my husband well is a promise I made to God before my marriage took place.

@hearkat I know people on the opposite side of coin. They split up and are living with other partners in happy relationships but remain married so the non-working spouse and children can have the good health care coverage that comes with one spouse’s job. Yay America.

I guess for me it is like a milestone in my life and celebrating big for the promise of being together through thick and thin.

It means commitment. While friendships and infatuations come and go it gives stability. I still think if you are going to have children it is best to be married. Call me old fashioned.

It is both sacrament and contract.

We married ourselves five years before we took out a marriage license and signed the legal papers. To us, being married is simply an affirmation of our partnership. We just celebrated our 37th anniversary.

It keeps me clothed and fed. And, I have a really great time with my wife.

I ditto @livelaughlove21, but would also comment that I love being able to say I am married because I think it is still expected and a sign of a women’s worth in this society. Sad, but true. I was single all during my thirties and even though I was happy single, I often felt that others wanted to make me feel like they were “winning” because they were married and I wasn’t.