Some of you may protest, “but I like weddings!  They’re fun!”  Does sitting around for hours with pit stains in a dress you hate in the company of people you barely know with a severe case of sobriety sound fun to you?  There are obviously some exceptions (especially if you are the bride or you’re just the “+1″ on an invitation), but here are the 10 things we hate about weddings:

1). Bridesmaid Dresses – This is probably the worst thing on our list and definitely the one with the worst reputation (see uglydress.com and the hundreds of other sites dedicated to the fashion offenses committed in the “bridesmaid dress” genre).  A summer wedding could only improve an ugly dress you didn’t want to wear – the pit stains will totally distract people from that pink poofy thing around your hips.

2). Weird Relatives – Seriously, where did those guys come from?  I’ll bet you never knew that your Uncle Jed (Uncle Who??) from Sweden was a professional turnip juggler.  He’s just dying to tell you all about his most  recent competition, too.

3). Inadequate Seating – Wooden chairs and pews are so not comfortable, especially when you’re forced to watch something akin to My Big Redneck Wedding play out in front of your eyes (or, even worse, Bridezillas).  Let’s get some couches up in here, or at least a cushion (at the very least, you could use the excessive amount of tulle in your ugly bridesmaid dress as a make-shift cushion).

4). The Lack of Alcohol – Unfortunately, not all weddings include the magical words “open bar.”  Some of them are even dry weddings (gasp!).  Seriously, if you’re gonna make us sit next to your creepy cousin at the singles table, then you better be handing out the bottles of wine like candy.

5). The Bride – We love her, we want to be her (maybe), but we also want to kill her.  For some reason, once a girl gets a ring on her finger, it’s like getting permission to regress to when you were a toddler and were spoiled by everyone.  Sorry, but if you’re not two years old, you just can’t rock a temper tantrum.

6). Ugly Groomsmen – Even the worst wedding can be saved by a couple pieces of eye candy in tuxes…but nothing ruins a summer wedding faster than an uggo in a sweat-stained tux.  Especially if you’re a bridesmaid.  Especially if you’re a single bridesmaid.

7). Children – Kind of like a spastic bride, if you put a kid in a pretty dress, it’s pretty much a free pass for any and all misbehavin’.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m kinda jealous that they get to take their shoes off and run around screaming in their dress clothes.  However, my jealousy is buried by my displeasure at being seated at the singles table with them (or at the end of the head table, stuck with the job of babysitting the flower girl).

8). The Chicken Dance – Just…no.  No one can look good doing this.  It’s not fun.  It’s not cute.  Stop the madness.

9). Bridesmaid Drama – If you’re lucky enough to be a part of the wedding party, then you get special privileges that other guests do not…such as bridesmaid drama.  Nothing kills an evening like trying to control a cat fight between the bride and her sister.  Trust me, you do not want to get caught up in that.

10). The Sheer Numbers – Once you get to a certain age, you start getting more and more of those little lacy  invitations in the mail (particularly in the summer).  As if one wasn’t enough!  You better invest in a flask and an amazing LBD right now.

That is… except me. And I’m in no rush. No rush at all. I have tons of friends who are getting married. And some of them, the ones who have been together for 5 plus years, or the ones who have been dating older guys for a while, those situations I understand. But the girls who are getting engaged during their junior year of college?

Cut me a break. It’s unnecessary.

You do not have to get engaged to be in a secure, stable and mature relationship. Going through years together shows much more commitment than a big rock.

Of course, I want the big rock one day, but I also want to be emotionally ready for all that marriage entails. Marriage is meant to be a lasting union, not a trend that everyone has to follow.

This isn’t fashion, ladies. You can’t decide you don’t like your hubby next season when suddenly you feel like he’s out of style.

I have a friend from high school who I have just found out is 23 and getting a divorce. And they were one of those relationships everyone thought would work. I also know another girl who is now a senior in college and on her second engagement.

I want to get married young enough so that I can enjoy being married before I’m ready to settle down with a family. But I don’t want to be young enough that my fiancé and I have yet to experience the real life situations that make a couple grow together.

But this, THIS is GOOD NEWS. I am no longer so incredibly disheartened by the marital status of everyone in their 20’s because apparently, the trend is going out.

USA Today says that “the trend toward delaying marriage has emerged over several decades as economic and social forces have made it more difficult for those in their 20s to reach independence. Sociologists and demographers say other factors are also at work, including increasing numbers of cohabiting couples, more highly educated women who have fewer highly educated men of comparable age to partner with, and more choices open to women than in decades past.”

Praise the Lord! We are shacking up, getting an education and facing a world that while economically makes it hard for us to be financially stable has more choices open to our gender.

Finally, we are able to realize that a ring does not make the relationship. That the white dress is not just for the virginal woman and that MARRIAGE isn’t synonymous for SEX.

Wait until you’re really ready. Do it before the big day. Make a smart decision because you are a smart woman. Realize that you don’t have to marry your college sweetheart just because everyone else is.

Marriage should be forever, not just for now.