5 Reasons to Get Married
GUEST POST| The romantics amongst you will undoubtedly say the only reason to get married is luuuuurve, baby. And you’re probably right. After all, getting married without being in love with each other is probably asking for trouble. And when I say ‘probably’, I mean, ‘definitely’. But there are many reasons to get married other than love. Reasons that aren’t good enough to be the only reason to get married, but reasons that are simply the icing on your wedding cake.
Some reasons in this article won’t apply to you if you’re already living together – which you probably are, seeing as it’s not 1950 and ‘living over t’brush’ is no longer frowned upon. But if you’re not living together yet, a couple of these reasons might edge you nearer the living together stage of a relationship.
You Get A Day Out At A Beautiful Venue
This is possibly a shallow reason to get married, but who doesn’t love a day out at a beautiful venue? You can of course simply have a quickie marriage at a registry office, then go home for a cup of tea and a Rich Tea biscuit in front of Emmerdale if that’s your idea of a perfect day. For those of you who like a bit of pomp and ceremony, though, you’ll need to get married. You could get married at a castle, a safari park, a field full of sunflowers or a beautiful wedding venue in Essex.
You Automatically Inherit Their Assets
People like to think they get married for love, not money, but inheritance is an important issue. For example, you could live with someone for thirty years but, if you’re not married and something happens to your partner, you’ll receive nothing. There’s been a long-held myth that common-law marriage kicks in after a certain amount of time, but there’s not actually any such thing as common-law marriage in the UK. (You can draw up a cohabitation agreement, but that’s something for another post.)
What this means is, if you’re not married and one of you dies, the assets will go to the next of kin. Whether that’s a very much-loved parent, a needy niece, or a greedy sibling you haven’t spoken to for decades. However, when you’re married, if one of you dies, the other automatically inherits everything. Yay.
Someone On Hand To Fix Stuff
Perhaps you don’t need anyone to fix stuff, and can fix a leaky tap or build a fitted wardrobe by yourself perfectly well, thank you very much. If you live on your own though and your DIY skills are lacking, marrying someone who’s good at that kind of thing will save you a fortune. As well as this, it's by far more convenient than waiting in for tradespeople to turn up (or not turn up, as the case may be). Even if you are good at fixing and building stuff, having someone around to help move the furniture out of the way when you’re decorating or putting a new floor down always comes in handy.
It’s Cheaper
Another financial reason, and another reason that won’t apply if you’re already living together, is that it’s cheaper. You may have heard the saying ‘two can live as cheaply as one’ and to a certain extent, it’s true. You’ll save money by sharing the utility bills and, although you’d think feeding two people would cost twice as much as one person, it doesn’t seem to work out like that and your weekly shopping bill will go down.
Help With Pets
I’ve left the best reason until last. Anyone who has ever lived alone with a cat will know what I’m saying here. An extra pair of hands to help get a cat into a basket when it’s time to visit the vet is always welcome. Trying to get a cat in a basket by yourself usually only ends up in tears – yours and the cat’s. What is also welcome is someone to help out with the feeding, exercising and cleaning up of your pet’s various bodily functions.
Reasons to get married other than love – As I said at the beginning, getting married purely for reasons other than love is just asking for an unhappy marriage that will probably end in divorce. But there’s nothing wrong with taking other factors into consideration when deciding whether to tie the knot.
Are you considering getting married in the future?
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