About a year ago I was asked to be my cousin’s bridesmaid for her wedding. I was bit taken aback by the invitation at first because 1.) I haven’t heard from my cousin in years and thought she was still a child, and 2.) I thought she was way too young to be getting married anyway (she was 20-years-old at the time). Well, fast forward to the day of the wedding as I waddled around in these awful shoes and an unflattering green dress, and suddenly it was a different story. Even though I was only 21 at the time, the majority of my family and friends that approached me that day kept asking me, “So when are you going to get married?” Me? What’s the rush?

Too often I hear about this pressure to rush into marriage, find that perfect guy and get that ring on your finger as if it was a triathlon. Getting engaged is such a huge life altering decision; it seems like that would be the last thing anyone would want to hastily rush through without careful thinking. And besides pressure from pushy family members, I also notice different mediums promoting the idea of rushing to the alter. I know my job is to research and read wedding and relationship related blogs all day, but after awhile I notice myself feeding into it all. Suddenly I start to feel as if I really want to be a part of all this, which is kind of scary. But there are so many women out there that echo that same sentiment. They might see their best-friend get married or watch a really lavish wedding on TV and then start to think, “I want that.” And if they are lucky to have a good, stable relationship with someone they love, perhaps it would affect their decision to get engaged sooner. But is this a healthy attitude to have? What do you guys think about rushing into marriage?