Getting married is a big emotional commitment which is underlined by the huge price tag which comes along with the tradition. The average wedding in the US costs a little over $20,000 which is a lot of money though it is less than the price of most new cars these days. Nevertheless, divorce rates are such that half of those getting married today will not stay married, or at least not to each other, and financial difficulties are a major factor in couples breaking apart.



It makes absolutely no sense for a couple to get married and in the process saddle themselves with a mountain of debt and expenses, and especially at a time when they may be thinking of buying a home together and starting a family.

Spur of the moment marriages are all very well on paper, and for some people they are actually a viable alternative to getting hitched in a traditional manner. For most people they are not appropriate even though there may be a great attraction as well as a much reduced price tag to go with it.

Likewise, rushing to get married in a traditional ceremony is to be avoided as well and especially if it means you have to cut corners on the wedding or rack up debts on your plastic to pay for everything.

It pays to spend some time saving for your occasion, not just as a pair of individuals but as a couple. Getting married is itself the first step in a life of working and living together, and the wedding process, as strenuous and emotionally demanding as it may be is a good test of how a couple will work together because far worse is going to come at them as they go through life. Taking time to work and save together will help bond the couple closer emotionally and make you both feel you have a stake in making the marriage a success in the long-term and not just on the wedding day.

It is an old man's saying, "Marry in haste, repent at leisure!" which is born from a time when you got married and no matter what, you stayed married - happily ever after simply didn't come into it! Today, divorce is easy to come by and the incentive and pressure to keep a couple together is not there anymore but, that is not to say that getting divorced is pleasant. Getting divorced is horrible, even when you are lucky enough to have an "amicable divorce" and it is also extremely costly - much more costly than any wedding you can imagine or wish for.

The key to a planning a successful wedding is time and preparation; with that you can arrange for a wonderful day for you both and for your guests, but taking your time will help you in the transition into married life where you will be working and living together as a couple and not as two individuals. Take your time and learn to walk as a couple before you try to run!