If you’ve been with your partner for a while now, you might be thinking about taking your romance a step further.
Though fewer and fewer of us are getting married in the UK (and yes, money is a massive factor), those of us that are set to pop the question are most likely to do it in the upcoming colder months.
It’s hard not to wonder what’s “normal” for couples when considering the question, though. Perhaps you’re worried it’s too soon; maybe you think most couples move speedier than you do.
Though there’s no such thing as “normal” (especially in relationships), those who are wondering about what’s average have answers; once the engagement has been set, most couples wait between 12 and 20 months to actually tie the knot.
The majority of people who get married lived together for about 22 months before getting engaged, too.
And if you’re wondering how long most couples wait before marriage, a Bridebook.co.uk study of more than 4,000 pairs found that most of them spent 4.9 years together before getting married.
We’re getting married later
Whether almost five years sounds much too long for you or way too little, one thing’s for sure; we’re getting married later in life in the UK.
The average bride or groom is eight years older than in the 1970s, Bridebook shared, with the average age of the groom being 32.7 years old and the bride being 30.8 years old.
Couples had, on average, two serious relationships before they found their fiancee, the study found. On average, the couples had dated for 17 months (or 1.4 years) before moving in together.
And for some great news ― 83% of affianced couples felt no pressure to marry, 91% of couples choose to get married to demonstrate commitment, and 95% of couples would recommend getting married (d’aww).
Hamish Shepherd, founder of Bridebook, furthered the good news ― “We have reached a tipping point where the divorce rate will likely be on the decline for the foreseeable future as marriage increasingly becomes the fully informed independent choice of couples wishing to demonstrate their commitment to one another without the pressure seen in previous generations,” they said.
So, however long you choose to wait, it seems that picking what’s right for you as a couple is key.