There comes a time in most relationships when you feel it’s time to take the next step and throw the towel in during the dating game – you want to get married, and be committed to your sweetheart till death do you both part. You’ve got it all planned, and will live happily ever after until the end. But how do you know it’s the right time for you to pop the question that determines the rest of your life?

Some people get married after only a few days or weeks, and some take their time over years together before deciding to commit. The person you propose to should be one that you feel you can wake up to every day for the rest of your life, someone who makes you feel good and is there for you when the chips are down. Is that your love? Do they help you out in all the areas of your life that you need help with, and are you financially able to get married? Even a simple justice of the peace wedding comes with a price. Have you decided on where you will live as a married couple, and are you willing to combine all of your assets into one, even it might mean finally ditching that lime green beanbag chair from college that she despises?

There are a lot of questions that need to be considered before slipping that diamond ring on her finger, and the smart thing to do would be to sit down at some point and talk through a possible marriage. Is she feeling the love, too, and would like to be married someday? What about the possibility of kids, and finances, and cars and jobs and ... and ... the list goes on and on. When you can both decide on an agreement for how a marriage should work and what should come from your union together, then it’s time to consider proposing, but not a minute earlier.

A marriage should be considered as a sacred commitment between two people and their love for each other, not a spur-of-the-moment drunken episode that you thought sounded good at the time. This is the rest of your life we’re talking about! Well, it’s supposed to be, but there are some exceptions with unforeseen circumstances. However, it has to feel right in your mind and your heart before unleashing your love on the world as a newlywed couple.