Can anyone predict the right time to marry? In recent months, much has been written about the wedding boom expected to unfold this year. Waning pandemic restrictions combined with two years of pent-up demand have set the stage for an explosive year for Canada’s wedding industry. While this is certainly a cause for celebration, it comes at a time when Canadians appear to be rethinking their views on marriage altogether.
Canadian census data indicates a dramatic decline since 1996 in marriage rates among young people. Twenty years ago, nearly 40% of Canadians aged 20–29 were legally married. Since then, the marriage rate among this cohort has steadily declined. The most recent data indicates that around 1 in 5 of Canadian twenty-somethings has legally tied the knot. This data is consistent with a broader trend across the developed world. Young people are marrying later and less frequently than ever before. Economists, sociologists, and religious bodies have all voiced concerns about the trend. While alarming to some, these numbers may simply indicate a shift in perspective rather than a collapse of tradition.
The Other Side of the Story
It is easy to focus on the downtrend in legal marriage alone. However, drawing conclusions based on this alone ignores a broader narrative. The decline in married young couples is complemented by an equally dramatic rise in the number of common-law marriages. Thus, this data does not indicate the desire to forego long-term romantic partnerships entirely. Rather, it indicates young Canadians’ desire to validate their partnership on their own terms instead of through religious institutions or the state.
Cardus, a Canadian research firm, set out to gather more context on the motivations behind the demographic shifts around marriage attitudes. The study included couples who are legally married, couples who intend to marry, and long-term couples with no intention to marry. The findings were eye-opening.
Why Do We Marry?
Since marriage is a pillar of social and economic life, it can be very easy to take for granted. So easy, in fact, that seldom are couples asked about the why behind their decision. The data collected in the Cardus study posed this very question first. The participants who were legally married overwhelmingly cited “proof of love and commitment” as their primary motivation. For couples who intend to marry, “proof of love and commitment” accounted for a whopping 50% of reasoning.
This is striking because this reasoning outperformed “cultural, moral, and religious beliefs” by a 2:1 ratio. In a Western context, marriage has been socially enforced in many instances. Even among young people, there appears to be a shift in that perspective.
So Why Not Marry?
The story for long-term unmarried couples is different. However, it reflects many of the same attitudes. Nearly 65% of unmarried couples indicated that they had no intention to wed because their current arrangement was acceptable as it stood, or that they did not believe in the institution of marriage.
Considering that the couples surveyed are in long-term partnerships, it’s safe to say that they too value love and commitment. Yet they don’t feel the need to validate their love for one another through the traditional channels anymore. Many argue that this could be the pathway to more fruitful relationships between young couples.
Love and commitment are intrinsically beautiful things. For many, though, marriage as an institution can feel attached to coercive power dynamics, social status, and economic advancement. For younger couples, a “back to basics” approach appears to be developing. There seems to be a rejection of the belief that marriage is a necessary task. Rather it is an embrace of the belief that pursuing love and commitment is about spiritual fulfillment above all else. Thus, the decline in marriage rates may indicate an expansion of our understanding of marriage into something more grand than an “institution.”
The decision to get engaged is an important one. Marriage is a huge commitment, and planning a large event like a wedding is a very involved process that can run you a small fortune. Naturally, you might have a ton of questions after you’ve made the decision to get married. From appreciating this next stage in your life to putting the planning wheels in motion, there are a handful of points you want to hit sooner rather than later. Review these suggestions and gain more insight on how to move forward.
Enjoy the Magic of the Moment
The first and most important step after getting engaged is to stop and take stock of the decision. You’re bound to feel a lot of strong emotions after choosing to spend the rest of your life with your significant other. Giving yourself the freedom to experience your feelings can be the best way to process your decision and get excited about all that is in store. Be sure to celebrate with your partner in some capacity. Whether you go out to dinner or break open some champagne at home, mark the occasion however you can.
Decide When To Tell Others
Perhaps the most important decision is determining when to break the news of the engagement to the people you care about. The trouble with this is that once you start informing people, everyone is going to know. People tend to let things slip even when they are excellent at keeping secrets. This means you don’t want to just tell one or two people and let everyone else know later. Sit down with your partner and decide when you’d like to make the information public and how you want to go about telling everyone.
In the age of social media, you can cover all your bases at once with a “we’re engaged!” post on Facebook or Instagram. However, this shouldn’t be the way important people in your life like your parents find out. Call those who you want to tell directly, then put the information online for everyone else.
Give Yourself Room To Dream
Part of the excitement of getting engaged is dreaming about what you want your big day to look like. Unfortunately, plenty of couples rush right from engagement to planning, giving themselves very little time to play around with far-flung or creative ideas. If you really want to figure out what your perfect day looks and feels like, dream. Even if you dream outside of the realm of possibility, you’ll still gain perspective on what you want from your nuptials.
Discuss Finances
Though not as fun as some of the suggestions on this list, one of the earlier conversations to have after getting engaged is how much money you want to spend on the wedding. While you don’t need to set the budget until you’ve got a few other details arranged, this preliminary discussion can provide you with the general parameters of your event. If you know you want to spend X amount of money from the start, then you’ll have an easier time staying within the confines of your budget.
Look at Some Options
Finally, look at some options when it comes to venues and vendors. Again, there is no need to set anything in stone during the preliminary stages of planning. Still, reviewing different businesses can get you excited about your options and give you more perspective on what to expect.
Once you’re ready to get married, there are a ton of decisions to consider before you can walk down the aisle. However, basking in the joy of the moment and figuring out some early points can make the rest of the process a lot easier.
The first year of marriage can be a tricky one. Thankfully, surviving it with your partner is not a complicated endeavor. Consider these tips.
The time leading up to your wedding can be a chaotic period. With so much planning to do, you may not consider what life will be like after you’ve tied the knot. The first year of marriage can be a tricky one. There are a number of adjustments you are going to need to make in order to accommodate your new status as a couple. Thankfully, surviving the first year of marriage is not a complicated endeavor. Consider these tips to gain a little bit of insight on how to make this year an enriching one.
Conflicts Will Happen
It stands to reason that you and your significant other have already gotten into a few fights before deciding to get married. Conflict is a natural part of any relationship. For some reason, however, many couples become a lot more concerned about arguments after getting married. Though it may feel like fighting is going to put you on the path to divorce, this isn’t the case. How you handle the conflicts, however, can and will dictate the future of your relationship. Learn to pick and choose your battles. This is the best way to avoid unnecessary squabbles.
Communicate
A great way to reduce conflicts and enjoy your first year of marriage is by communicating. More often than not, problems in a relationship develop when two people are no longer on the same page. Unfortunately, it is easy to fall into the wrong habits with your spouse. When you both work long days, you may not feel like discussing relationship topics when you’re together after work. This might force you to push off issues that need attention. By focusing on open communication, you and your significant other will be able to understand where the other is coming from.
Be a Partner
During your first year together, you and your spouse will be learning how to properly support each other. Understanding how to be an actual partner to your significant other is a process of trial and error. Everyone has different needs and emotional requirements when it comes to relationships. The way you prefer to be comforted when you’re upset may be very different than what your spouse requires. The trick is paying attention and understanding the best way to provide support when it is needed from you.
Include Family
Marrying a person means you are marrying his or her entire family. This can often be a point of contention. If either of you has intense family members who cause a lot of drama or are very needy, you can’t take it out on each other. Keep communication open and mention when you feel like a family member is being too much. You also need to be receptive to criticism from your significant other about your own family. Be mindful of the way your relatives behave and the demands they place on your relationship.
Stay Physical
Physical contact is wildly important to keeping a relationship alive and healthy. While you don’t need to have sex every night, it can be good to try and be physical with one another when possible. Endless studies have shown a consistent sex life can keep the fire burning in a relationship. Get into a groove that makes sense for your own schedules during the first year of marriage, and learn how to keep romance alive for years to come.
Practice Patience
Finally, learn how to practice patience. People who are slow to anger are usually a lot easier to deal with. If you fly off the handle at every little thing, it will only cause unneeded stress in your relationship.
Surviving your first year of marriage is no small venture. Get into the right habits by following these tips, and you will be able to discover the best way to keep your love alive.
Can anyone predict the right time to marry? In recent months, much has been written about the wedding boom expected to unfold this year. Waning pandemic restrictions combined with two years of pent-up demand have set the stage for an explosive year for Canada’s wedding industry. While this is certainly a cause for celebration, it comes at a time when Canadians appear to be rethinking their views on marriage altogether.
Canadian census data indicates a dramatic decline since 1996 in marriage rates among young people. Twenty years ago, nearly 40% of Canadians aged 20–29 were legally married. Since then, the marriage rate among this cohort has steadily declined. The most recent data indicates that around 1 in 5 of Canadian twenty-somethings has legally tied the knot. This data is consistent with a broader trend across the developed world. Young people are marrying later and less frequently than ever before. Economists, sociologists, and religious bodies have all voiced concerns about the trend. While alarming to some, these numbers may simply indicate a shift in perspective rather than a collapse of tradition.
The Other Side of the Story
It is easy to focus on the downtrend in legal marriage alone. However, drawing conclusions based on this alone ignores a broader narrative. The decline in married young couples is complemented by an equally dramatic rise in the number of common-law marriages. Thus, this data does not indicate the desire to forego long-term romantic partnerships entirely. Rather, it indicates young Canadians’ desire to validate their partnership on their own terms instead of through religious institutions or the state.
Cardus, a Canadian research firm, set out to gather more context on the motivations behind the demographic shifts around marriage attitudes. The study included couples who are legally married, couples who intend to marry, and long-term couples with no intention to marry. The findings were eye-opening.
Why Do We Marry?
Since marriage is a pillar of social and economic life, it can be very easy to take for granted. So easy, in fact, that seldom are couples asked about the why behind their decision. The data collected in the Cardus study posed this very question first. The participants who were legally married overwhelmingly cited “proof of love and commitment” as their primary motivation. For couples who intend to marry, “proof of love and commitment” accounted for a whopping 50% of reasoning.
This is striking because this reasoning outperformed “cultural, moral, and religious beliefs” by a 2:1 ratio. In a Western context, marriage has been socially enforced in many instances. Even among young people, there appears to be a shift in that perspective.
So Why Not Marry?
The story for long-term unmarried couples is different. However, it reflects many of the same attitudes. Nearly 65% of unmarried couples indicated that they had no intention to wed because their current arrangement was acceptable as it stood, or that they did not believe in the institution of marriage.
Considering that the couples surveyed are in long-term partnerships, it’s safe to say that they too value love and commitment. Yet they don’t feel the need to validate their love for one another through the traditional channels anymore. Many argue that this could be the pathway to more fruitful relationships between young couples.
Love and commitment are intrinsically beautiful things. For many, though, marriage as an institution can feel attached to coercive power dynamics, social status, and economic advancement. For younger couples, a “back to basics” approach appears to be developing. There seems to be a rejection of the belief that marriage is a necessary task. Rather it is an embrace of the belief that pursuing love and commitment is about spiritual fulfillment above all else. Thus, the decline in marriage rates may indicate an expansion of our understanding of marriage into something more grand than an “institution.”
The decision to get engaged is an important one. Marriage is a huge commitment, and planning a large event like a wedding is a very involved process that can run you a small fortune. Naturally, you might have a ton of questions after you’ve made the decision to get married. From appreciating this next stage in your life to putting the planning wheels in motion, there are a handful of points you want to hit sooner rather than later. Review these suggestions and gain more insight on how to move forward.
Enjoy the Magic of the Moment
The first and most important step after getting engaged is to stop and take stock of the decision. You’re bound to feel a lot of strong emotions after choosing to spend the rest of your life with your significant other. Giving yourself the freedom to experience your feelings can be the best way to process your decision and get excited about all that is in store. Be sure to celebrate with your partner in some capacity. Whether you go out to dinner or break open some champagne at home, mark the occasion however you can.
Decide When To Tell Others
Perhaps the most important decision is determining when to break the news of the engagement to the people you care about. The trouble with this is that once you start informing people, everyone is going to know. People tend to let things slip even when they are excellent at keeping secrets. This means you don’t want to just tell one or two people and let everyone else know later. Sit down with your partner and decide when you’d like to make the information public and how you want to go about telling everyone.
In the age of social media, you can cover all your bases at once with a “we’re engaged!” post on Facebook or Instagram. However, this shouldn’t be the way important people in your life like your parents find out. Call those who you want to tell directly, then put the information online for everyone else.
Give Yourself Room To Dream
Part of the excitement of getting engaged is dreaming about what you want your big day to look like. Unfortunately, plenty of couples rush right from engagement to planning, giving themselves very little time to play around with far-flung or creative ideas. If you really want to figure out what your perfect day looks and feels like, dream. Even if you dream outside of the realm of possibility, you’ll still gain perspective on what you want from your nuptials.
Discuss Finances
Though not as fun as some of the suggestions on this list, one of the earlier conversations to have after getting engaged is how much money you want to spend on the wedding. While you don’t need to set the budget until you’ve got a few other details arranged, this preliminary discussion can provide you with the general parameters of your event. If you know you want to spend X amount of money from the start, then you’ll have an easier time staying within the confines of your budget.
Look at Some Options
Finally, look at some options when it comes to venues and vendors. Again, there is no need to set anything in stone during the preliminary stages of planning. Still, reviewing different businesses can get you excited about your options and give you more perspective on what to expect.
Once you’re ready to get married, there are a ton of decisions to consider before you can walk down the aisle. However, basking in the joy of the moment and figuring out some early points can make the rest of the process a lot easier.
The first year of marriage can be a tricky one. Thankfully, surviving it with your partner is not a complicated endeavor. Consider these tips.
The time leading up to your wedding can be a chaotic period. With so much planning to do, you may not consider what life will be like after you’ve tied the knot. The first year of marriage can be a tricky one. There are a number of adjustments you are going to need to make in order to accommodate your new status as a couple. Thankfully, surviving the first year of marriage is not a complicated endeavor. Consider these tips to gain a little bit of insight on how to make this year an enriching one.
Conflicts Will Happen
It stands to reason that you and your significant other have already gotten into a few fights before deciding to get married. Conflict is a natural part of any relationship. For some reason, however, many couples become a lot more concerned about arguments after getting married. Though it may feel like fighting is going to put you on the path to divorce, this isn’t the case. How you handle the conflicts, however, can and will dictate the future of your relationship. Learn to pick and choose your battles. This is the best way to avoid unnecessary squabbles.
Communicate
A great way to reduce conflicts and enjoy your first year of marriage is by communicating. More often than not, problems in a relationship develop when two people are no longer on the same page. Unfortunately, it is easy to fall into the wrong habits with your spouse. When you both work long days, you may not feel like discussing relationship topics when you’re together after work. This might force you to push off issues that need attention. By focusing on open communication, you and your significant other will be able to understand where the other is coming from.
Be a Partner
During your first year together, you and your spouse will be learning how to properly support each other. Understanding how to be an actual partner to your significant other is a process of trial and error. Everyone has different needs and emotional requirements when it comes to relationships. The way you prefer to be comforted when you’re upset may be very different than what your spouse requires. The trick is paying attention and understanding the best way to provide support when it is needed from you.
Include Family
Marrying a person means you are marrying his or her entire family. This can often be a point of contention. If either of you has intense family members who cause a lot of drama or are very needy, you can’t take it out on each other. Keep communication open and mention when you feel like a family member is being too much. You also need to be receptive to criticism from your significant other about your own family. Be mindful of the way your relatives behave and the demands they place on your relationship.
Stay Physical
Physical contact is wildly important to keeping a relationship alive and healthy. While you don’t need to have sex every night, it can be good to try and be physical with one another when possible. Endless studies have shown a consistent sex life can keep the fire burning in a relationship. Get into a groove that makes sense for your own schedules during the first year of marriage, and learn how to keep romance alive for years to come.
Practice Patience
Finally, learn how to practice patience. People who are slow to anger are usually a lot easier to deal with. If you fly off the handle at every little thing, it will only cause unneeded stress in your relationship.
Surviving your first year of marriage is no small venture. Get into the right habits by following these tips, and you will be able to discover the best way to keep your love alive.
