Guybrush

We had a non-religious wedding, so that's probably possible in your part of the world as well.

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Something Completely Different

Carpe Mortem

Marriage was originally a religious institution. I know that technically you can get married and it's not religious nowadays, but I like to make stances about things sometimes. Plus the whole metaphorical idea of losing myself. I like my independence. I don't want something marking me as belonging to anyone, never wanna change my name in the slightest as a minor point. Don't want who I am tied to another person on the record. Weddings are expensive, divorces are expensive, just not my bag man.

And regrettably the tax breaks aren't what they used to be, depending on your relationship. If one partner makes more, it is beneficial, but when both make about the same it's actually best to file separately.

It's a shame how marriage is the only way most people seem to deem a relationship 'serious'. It's also a shame how retarded the word 'boyfriend' sounds, I feel like a 16 year old and try my best to say 'partner' without sounding like a secretive lesbian.

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Musicwhore A-Z

A license, and that's all it is. Has nothing to do with "commitment". I know a few couples with children who are very commited to each other yet never married. Likewise, I also know some who are married and FAR from "commited", if you know what I mean. In short order, one doesn't have to be married to reap the same "benefits" ( I say that VERY loosely ) as a married couple. Sex, companionship, a home, and a family can all be obtained without letting the state you reside in decide what your relationship is. Interesting comments everybody, pro and con ( ).

Chula Vista

This was actually a pretty big part of it for me at the time. I got sick of saying my girlfriend and wanted to say my wife.

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“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well,
on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away
and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

Guybrush

It was? That could be true, but really - there are so many marriage customs going back so far in time, it's impossible to know for sure if any religion can really claim ownership over it. Different cultures and religions have different marriage customs, but of course we didn't do our marriage according to them anyways.

I think marriage, the solidifying of union between two lovers, is popular for a reason and I think it has little to do with religion, actually. I believe it is competitive as a meme (meme theory) and as a strategy because of various reasons. Like it facilitates cooperation in raising children, it caters to people's possessive feelings (you don't want to share your partner) and it helps keep cooperative couples and families together.

These are just a few points and I'm obviously just scratching a surface, but I imagine that if a society didn't have marriage, that society would probably become more competitive once marriage did evolve in culture and became popular. More incentive for people to cooperate about raising kids and building value to their lives would have a multitude of consequences.

As for personal feelings about it, I didn't feel a loss of freedom when we married. Being a husband is pretty much like being a boyfriend I'd say. We have two incomes instead of one, so that gives us way more economic freedom. We both "dare" to invest in things like a house partly because the other can't just run away from it all. Unless you'd rather be with someone else than your wife/husband, the real "loss" of freedom comes with children.

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Something Completely Different

Scarlett O'Hara

I've never been married. Can't wait for the eventual wedding where I dress like a fairy princess in a pink dress. I'm lucky I look 18 still, it means I will still look young when I get married eventually.

I do want to marry my cat. Is that possible?

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Burning Down

I better be invited to your future wedding.

The Batlord

Yes, at least you'll still look young.

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innerspaceboy

I'm proposing next month. Also planning a nerdcore wedding to celebrate love, piracy, marshmallow cereal, cartoons, and an array of fandoms. Details here.

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Burning Down

Awesome! How long have you been together?