We were together for 23 years before we got legally married. When we decided to leave our day jobs and move, we looked into the pluses and minuses of getting hitched. We decided because of financial practicality and power of attorney issues that it made sense to make it legal. The day my wife had done the research, I picked her up at the train station and she greeted me with, Goddam it dear, we have to get married. A statement that has way different meaning when you're in your fifties as opposed to being eighteen. It was fun getting a marriage license. There was a young couple in front of us getting one. When we got to the counter we mentioned we'd been together for 23 years, because you don't want to rush things. We tell people we only spent $127 on getting married ($27 for the certificate and donated $100 to the UU church where the minister hitched us in her office in ten minutes).