For about as long as every college woman can remember, she's been dreaming of her magical wedding day. As we all grew up, we kind of realized that we actually needed to be realistic about the cost of our wedding, who we'd be marrying (sorry, Jonas Brothers), and, surprisingly enough, when this wedding would take place.
Although we may have become slightly more level-headed in terms of not necessarily getting married at Cinderella's Castle, it turns out that we still have things pretty much planned out. We clearly still fantasize about our wedding day, and more importantly, just when the big day will happen.
Here is the "right age" of when you should get married, according to 24 college women:
1. "27"
"Post college, before your 30s."
2. "24"
"I think that's when I'd feel mature enough to make the lifelong commitment, yet I'd still feel like I can start a family and get going on building my life without feeling like time was an issue."
3. "26"
"Still very young to have time to be married for a years before having kids and still will be young and ready to run around with the babies. I'll hopefully be financially stable and in a mental place where I'm ready."
4. "25"
"It's a solid age where most people are done with school or have made solid ground in their careers, and it's old enough to have "lived" as an adult without being 'tied down.'"
5. "25 or 26"
"I want to get married as soon as possible, but I know that my boyfriend and I will need to save up money first."
6. "30"
"I say this all the time—but even if I meet the man tomorrow, I'm still waiting until I'm 30 to get married. Your 20s are arguably the best years of your life. When else in your life do you have so much freedom with so little responsibility? I want to take advantage of these years—I want to have the flexibility to take whatever job I want, to move wherever I want, to do whatever I want. I have the rest of my life to be married and to settle down. Why rush it?"
7. "27"
"By this time, I'll have my college degree and a steady job that will at least give me the ability to live without financially relying on anyone else."
8. "26-30"
"This sounds late, but in today's world it takes a minimum of 3 years to get a bachelors and most of the time 1-2 to get an associates. I would rather take care of myself instead having someone take care of me."
9. "24"
"Well it really depends on the individual, but I'd say that if you're in a healthy relationship long enough that 24 would be an early enough age to still be able to live and experience life with your partner."
10. "27"
"I'll be done with grad school and in the work force."
11. "There is no right/wrong age"
"When you know, you know. (Sincerely a soon to be 20-year-old bride)"
12. "32"
"Time to become yourself."
13. "23"
"I will be finishing college at 22 and would like to move in with my boyfriend immediately after. I think about marriage now pretty often because we have a loving healthy relationship that I see turning into marriage, however, I would like to wait until I'm finished with college and we are living together. I know that living with somebody deepens a relationship much further and I'd like to reach that point before getting married."
14. "26"
"At this age most people are certain of who they are and what they want in life."
15. "25"
"I want to be established in my career and have a bit more independence from my parents. I also want to have a few years after where I'm still in my 20s to have my first kid."
16. "25"
"I want to have graduated from college and have been able to start working and feel secure on my own before I get married."
17. "28"
"You've had your crazy twenties and have solidified a career, but you're still young enough to enjoy your marriage and wait a little to start a family (if that's your plan.)"
18. "27"
"Still young enough to look good in a wedding dress and wedding photos, but old enough to want to settle down and start your official adult life."
19. "30"
"I don't want to get married until I have lived a few years on my own with a stable job. I think not getting married in my 20s would allow me to decide where I want to settle long term, where I want to work, and allow me the chance to explore the world on my own before settling into a marriage."
20. "22"
No reasoning.
21. "25"
"I hope to have a degree and a stable job with resume experience at that point so I'll be self sufficient but still ready to settle down!"
22. "26-27"
"I'll have (hopefully) started my professional career, be done with student loan debt, and been with my partner for a good bit of time. If it happens before/after this age, it's totally OK! This is just my ideal."
23. "24"
"I've already been in a relationship for a long time so I'm more than ready to get the ball rolling. At the end of the day, marriage is just a title and only signifies love and exclusiveness. I feel like my boyfriend and I are ready for that title. Plus when you're younger you can still do fun things together like exotic vacations and concerts."
24. "26 or 27"
"I want to have kids before I'm 30, but I want to have some time to be married to my husband before we start trying!"
Although the results may disappoint our dads who have high hopes of us all waiting to tie the knot until we're in our mid-50s, college women are hoping that their significant other pops the question at an early-ish age. The majority of the college women asked said that either age 25 or 27 were the ages that they would most like to get married, while the average age among respondents was 26.
Most women evidently want to be married at an age where they are still young and can have fun with their partner, but want to be old enough to be certain that they are on their feet and mature enough to handle marriage.