First off, one does not need to "reinvent the wheel" when it comes to top reasons for getting married. Below is an example of the top 10 reasons taken from a web site at random:

No. 10  Marriage makes you live longer

No. 9  Marriage increases your earning power

No. 8  Marriage gives you a platform to build your bloodline on

No. 7  Marriage prevents you from dying alone

No. 6  Marriage makes you more attractive

No. 5  Marriage brings financial benefits

No. 4  Marriage means more sex

No. 3  Marriage means better sex

No. 2  Married people are happier

No. 1  Marriage makes you a better man

Beyond the top ten I will add that, in my opinion, your cohabitation simply looks more serious to many when you are married versus living together.

For my girlfriend and I marriage was what we were both interested in so the discussion about living together for year after year wasn't on the table.

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Now onto another aspect of marriage if you happen to live in the New York metro area. If you don't get married you can't play the "getting your wedding announcement into The New York Times Wedding Section" challenge. Being able to get an EP on Open Salon is an uphill battle as we have all seen, but at least you get multiple opportunities. With the Times you get two shots, one for your engagement announcement and one for your wedding announcement.

On the web there are sites which discuss the ways to better your chance of having your announcement published as shown below in the two examples which I have provided the links for. Back at the time we were married there were far fewer photos and it was just of the bride in the wedding section. These days the norm is to show the bride and the groom in the photograph, plus there are feature stories that go into depth as to how the couple met, etc.

In our case, we submitted the engagement announcement (which my girlfriend wrote) about two months before we were married and, amazingly, the Times Wedding Section editor "picked" it and it was near the top of the page! So far, so good. Next came the wedding announcement with my fiancee's photo. I shot the black and white photograph and my fiancee wrote the copy, just as with the prior announcement. Luck was on our side a second time with the announcement and photo published and, as a bonus, it was at the top of the page! 

Here are two stories that discuss getting your announcement into the Times. Again, we didn't have the benefit of this information and had to "wing" it.

Click on the images below for each article...

As mentioned in my post last night about why I am not single, I have been happier in a relationship than when not in one. My interest in relationships started when I was in the 4th grade and sat next to a girl I had a crush on. Unfortunately, she and her family moved away after the school year ended and there was a "drought" for many years in the having a "crush" on anyone at school situation. Senior year in high school turned the scenario around, but my college experiences were by far the best and then later on after graduation "it all came together" in a great matrimonial way!

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Many thanks to Oryoki Bowl for the thought provoking open call!

Story is © 2012 by B+Co., Inc.