I've got a wedding anniversary coming up
in a few weeks time. And I thought that
I'd introduce the topic of marriage as
a discussion on OLO. I'd be interested
to find out how others feel about their decision
to marry, How important was getting married
to them? - and whether they would marry
again - given a choice today? How many are
happily married/or not, and the reasons they
feel their marriages are successful/or not.

Your thoughts please.

I'll kick this off, though somewhat facetiously!

I don't know who said this or IF 'they' even said it. I'm saying it.

Marriage is a fine institution. I'm simply not prepared to live out my life in an institution.

Good luck to those of you who do want to.

Foxy love,

The question really depends on your definition of marriage as the customs,cultures are all different.
If you are refering to living together long term V the formalisation then emphasis changes again.

My view is every one to their own.

Happiness is in the eye of the beholder and isn't alway the prominant reason to getting or staying married. Therefore the question is unanswerable for me personally.

As for marrying again unlikely communication/acceptance are the issues and the inhibitors for me, not disagreements etc.

unless you're offering then I'd need to think a bit ;-)

"Marriage" itself isn't the problem. It is the stigma attached to dissolving one. If there isn't any stigma, of course, there would be even less rationale for people making vows of eternal two-ness.

We already have rules that allow proper financial consideration when a partnership breaks up after a sensible period of time, so that isn't much of a concern.

Do people, I wonder, take their partnership responibilities less seriously if they haven't participated in a formalized ritual?

I don't treat non-married couples any differently to married couples, nor do I see non-married couples treating each other differently.

If it hadn't been invented, would we actually miss it?

I suspect that religion comes into it somewhere.

I'm married and happy, if I had to do it all over again I would still get married.

Marriage is hard but nothing worth doing is ever easy. The benefits of marriage and having children outweigh the initial fear that comes with marriage.

Marriage truly helps me to mature, be patient, and live with real purpose in life.

There are hidden rules to having a successful marriage and when they are not followed all hell breaks loose.
Being truthful to each other and keeping in mind that you are both on the same side is a must in a successful marriage.
When partners find themselves competing with each other they must remember that in any argument their must be a winner and a loser and if they truly love each other they would not want their partner to feel like a loser.

Married, Happy.

Well, Hubby is a very reasonable person who always tries to explain his point of view in a calm and pleasant manner. He has endless patience and the heart of a saint.

Drives me bloody insane.