For BRIDES, by Jillian Kramer.
Living together can seem like the first major step in today's culture. But some couples are bucking the new norm and waiting for marriage to move in together. And here, five engaged women explain why.
"We didn't live together before we got engaged, and we don't plan to now that we are. We realize it'll add a lot to do in the weeks before we get married, but we think the end result will be worth it. And we hope that because we waited, everything will feel new and exciting our first week as a married couple. After all, if you live together before you get married, what really changes?" —Amy
"My fiance and I watched a few of our mutual friends move in together only to go through really bad breakups a year or two later, so we decided long before we got engaged that we wouldn't move in together until we knew we wanted to be together for good. We know that now, but we've got enough to plan with the wedding. We'll move in together when we can find a break in the madness!" —Elizabeth
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"I'm not necessarily opposed to living together before marriage, but my parents definitely are. And because they're paying for our wedding, I feel like the right thing to do is not offend their moral compass before our big day. It's OK, though. I don't feel like I'm really sacrificing to make them happy. If it were that important to me, I'd do it anyway and deal with the consequences." —Jennifer
"My friends who waited to move in together actually convinced us to do the same. They felt so strongly that they made the right decision, and they laid out a very good case for why, which included everything from it feeling new to having something to look forward to after the big day. I have to say, at least the latter is so right: We have something to look forward to after the wedding day, and I can't wait." —Katherine
"Both me and my fiancé are lucky enough to be able to support ourselves — we don't need to live together. A lot of my friends moved in with their significant others because it made their lives easier, and that always felt a little wrong to me. I want to live with my fiancé because it's the start of our lives together, and not to save a few bucks. Plus, we've only got so long to do our own things before we need to do our thing together. So we're going to enjoy our independence while we can, and enjoy everything about living together after we're married." —Alice
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