We asked Christina Steinorth, a licensed psychotherapist and author of Cue Cards for Life: Thoughtful Tips for Better Relationships (Hunter House, 2012), for insight on how to tell when you’re ready to get married.
1. You've dated for a year and have been engaged for at least six months
Time counts if you want your marriage to work. "I always recommend that couples know each other for at least a year and have a long engagement. The reason for this is because most people, when they enter into a relationship, are typically on their best behaviour for the first year," Steinorth explains.
She adds that after that time, the real person starts to make an appearance. "Once this happens, you truly learn what your partner is like and whether or not you have a viable future together," she says. "Eighteen months is usually enough to see people at their best and their worst. So if you've made it this far, your marriage will stand a good chance of surviving the test of time."
2. You trust each other
Trust is a huge factor in both relationship and marriage success. In other words, if you don’t trust the person you’re with, you’re not ready to get married. "If you're checking your partner's phone, email, Facebook messages and any other things to see what he has been up to, you are definitely not ready for marriage," Steinorth says.
She describes marriage as a partnership and explains that the happiest couples function as a team, rather than work against each other. "Teammates trust each other to look out for what’s best for the team, so if you don’t trust your partner, you won’t make a good team and your marriage probably won't survive."
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