According to science, this is the perfect age to get married

Yes, I know, you’re not really supposed to say it as a nearly bride, but… I can’t hear the word wedding anymore.

Have you ever known how much work it is to plan a wedding? No, me neither. It’s all very fun of course and incredibly special and romantic and sweet and once in a lifetime, but you also have to make lists with 175 email addresses of your guests, just to name one thing. Go ahead and collect emails for fun, I recommend it. Or choose which forks you want to see next to the plates. Being on the road eighteen hours a week to and from the wedding venue and florist, bridal shop and bakery. You also just have to make four hundred and eight decisions regarding photography on a fresh Sunday afternoon, if possible.

Do you want a photo book in size 25×25 or in 30×30? Do you want a cream-colored cover for your photo book or do you prefer mixed gray? Linen, glossy or matte? !#%#!@(!±. I don’t know what the difference is, but I still choose. Do you want the date engraved in your ring, do you want the date engraved in your photo book, do you want your name somewhere? Your B&T logo, your initials, your new last name? And I choose something again. Gold or silver slippers (because hey, those heels are nice for during the day, but I do love a dance party). Eucalyptus or gypsophila? Making choices all day long: I’m not so good at that, it turns out. It also sometimes leads to drama in the bride and groom's house, not to mention the fact that the weeks are flying by and that day is terrifyingly suddenly close. Two mini-months left. Holy. That’s eight Saturdays of drinking wine. Eight Sundays of coffee chatting. Eight Monday mornings of getting out of bed. Alright, come on, it’s time to cut that eucalyptus knot.

What is nice though: I have the right age to get married. At least, if I may believe science. Between 28 and 32 is when you can best say yes to your great love. The chance of a divorce afterwards is then a bit smaller than when you marry younger or wait until later for the wedding. Every year that you decide to marry after your 32nd, the chance of a dull marriage and thus a divorce increases by five percent.

Look, that makes a difference. At least I won’t be ordering that cream-colored 30×30 photo book with names-logo and fourteen golden hearts for nothing.

FACTS

• Dutch women are on average 31 when they marry, men are on average 33 years old
• Most people meet their true love when they are 25 years old
• Currently, there are 295 couples in the Netherlands who have been married for 71 years or longer