Lately, I've been seeing news of (very) young people tying the knot on my Facebook feed. And while I certainly don't condemn them for taking their oaths early (when you know, you know, I suppose), I can't help but feel a little puzzled. What's the hurry? Even if you do believe you've found your soul mate, it's not as though there's a shortage of marriage certifications and we're stuck in a perpetual Black Friday of Weddings where you have to rush to get yours first.
There are obviously circumstances where it simply makes sense (like the girl I knew in college who married her military boyfriend when she was 19), but for the most part, I think it's best to wait until both people are in a stable and settling stage in their lives. Some are ahead of schedule; others don't discover that kind of security until they've hit their 30s. I talked to a few older women about the benefits of getting hitched in this particular decade, and here are the good things they had to say: