A new Match.com/MarketTools survey conducted on nearly 5,200 unmarried men and women reveals that the older single people get, the less they desire marriage and that young men are more eager to settle down and start a family than young women. Men want commitment, women want independence, and the older we get the less we want to marry.
Holly Madison wanted to marry Hugh Hefner for a very long time. She was his long-term "main" girlfriend for seven years, and for awhile that was enough. Pretty soon though, she wanted more. She wanted a wedding, and children and the ever-important privileges of being a someone's wife. He was unwilling to tie the knot. After seven years, Holly finally packed her bags. We can see why the girl might be a little peeved about Hugh's engagement to Crystal Harris after less than two years of being together. But for Holly, and women everywhere, this should serve as a wake-up call. Even Hugh Hefner will get married if he really wants to, no matter what he has said in the past to the contrary.
Watch what you retweet—Twitter, it seems, could wreck your nuptials. Case in point: The UPI is reporting that a Chinese human rights activist, Cheng Jianping, was arrested on what was meant to be her wedding day, all because she retweeted her fiance's politically-charged tweet.
Thirty-year-old Chen Wei-yih of Taiwan has her wedding all planned out. She has a dress, a guest list, a reserved banquet hall, a planned honeymoon to Australia, not to mention a wedding planner. All that's missing, or rather purposefully missing, is a groom. Uninspired by ex-boyfriends and unhappy with the binding nature of tradition, Wei-yih hopes to promote self-love by marrying herself. If the idea of marriage—to another person—just ain't your thing, like Wei-yih, here are four other ways to love yourself.
Too cash-strapped to get married? You're certainly not alone. According to the Census Bureau, the population of never-marrieds exceeded the number of married folk for the first time in a century. These days, many couples aren't necessarily choosing to forgo the wedding and marriage vows because they consider the whole convention obsolete or unnecessary—they just don't have the funds to get hitched.
Growing up, I was never the girl who dreamed of her perfect wedding gown or envisioned where the ceremony would take place. Instead, my future consisted of covering concerts and stalking bands for an interview. There's nothing wrong with that, right?
My husband and I are both uncomfortable with organized religion. I must admit, though: those Catholics do know a thing or two about love. Three years later, we still sometimes turn to our Pre-Cana workbook. It provokes discussion, and enables us to communicate about our marriage in ways that never would have occurred to us without it (um, rationally and maturely). But you don't have to sit through a marriage prep course in order to glean valuable lessons from a wiser-than-thou Catholic priest. Because Father Pat Connor—a Catholic priest for more than 50 years—has finally written the book on love.
The first thing you need to know is that Dan asked me to marry him while we were brushing our teeth. We had been together for almost 10 years at that point, living together for five, and we had plenty of people despairing as to whether we would ever get around to tying the knot. We finally settled matters after flossing. Big romantic gestures? Not our thing. We like to lie around eating ice cream straight from the container and watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia reruns. But then we jumped into planning mode for the wedding, a day that's supposed to be nothing but romantic moments and symbolic traditions. And even two cynics like ourselves couldn't help getting caught up in all the excitement. But when it came to walking being a bride and walking down the aisle, did I want my father to give me away?
An Australian-British couple almost missed their wedding in London after the volcanic ash stranded them in Dubai. But determined to make the best of things, Sean Murtagh and his Aussie bride Natalie Mead rounded up the best clothes they could find in their suitcases and tied the knot in Dubai. Back in London, their family and friends watched their nuptials and cheered them on via webcam.
These habits married couples sometimes adopt could lead to major problems. We'll say it straight up: There's no good reason in the world to hang onto these habits. They aren't helping.
Journalist and author Hannah Seligson's debut book, "A Little Bit Married: How to Know When It’s Time to Walk Down the Aisle or Out the Door," explores what may be holding this generation back from marriage.
