Marriage; as an act, as a union

If the goal of your relationship is to culminate at the altar, before a priest in a suit or wedding gown, then at the altar it will end, because when it goes beyond the altar, the result will be 2 divergent individuals who are unequally yoked by virtue of an institution.
An ideal relationship should array you for a life ahead, not a day's ceremony at the altar or before a magistrate.

A wedding ceremony is the formal declaration of a union between a man and woman, to the public.
Marriage is the life that follows after the ceremony.
Young couples ought to understand that the ceremony is for the public and everybody else, but marriage is the exclusive reserve for the couple.
You should not get burned out, or expend all your physical, mental or financial resources, planning for just a day, while the life that follows, is left in abeyance to chance or "hope in God".
The Marriage is greater than the wedding and we know that the lesser is included in the greater.

Marriage occurs when 2 willing & able individuals pledge allegiance/commitment, one to another,  and saddle themselves with the responsibilities therein.
This is not that pledge made before the priest or magistrate, no! This one is made of one's will & accord, adjudged by his conscience.
What the majority of people fail to comprehend is; a person might seem meet to walk down the aisle with, but do they measure up to walk the crossroads of life with you, would they still be standing by your side when the unprecedented storms of life surges and burgeons against you? It's nice for one to carry you down the aisle to the altar due to the euphoria of the ceremony, but beyond that day, would they still be a shoulder to lean when you're weak or weary 

If in all sincerity, you cannot answer these questions in the affirmative, then you ought to recede and redefine your priorities as it pertains to that relationship which you know is leading somewhere.
It's more profitable to plan for a life ahead than to plan for a day's ceremony

Awesome, MD
Obasi Enyinna Samuel