To be honest, I'm your age and I agree with the other posters that a year is too short. Especially given your young ages and current life positions. I was with a guy for four years. He asked me to marry him in the first year, though we didn't tell anyone else because we were so young. I was certain that I had found the love of my life, that we'd get married after I graduated. I felt so lucky I had found him so young. After four years, he did change, and decided he didn't want any of the things we had planned together any more and broke up with me. If we had made anything official after a year, it would have hurt even more later. In the future, I don't think I'd marry anyone I had been with for less than four years.

It's so true tho. But love is love so.

Depends how old you both are. A year isn't long, and if you're very young, they have a point. I say this because I went through it with my first husband. There were not quite three years between us ( he was younger) and he thought he was ready but it all got too much for him. He was engaged at 19, married at 20, a father at 21, and left me at 22,, saying he was 'too young for all this responsibility' - something I tried to tell him, but he insisted at each step that he was ready. Leaving was a decision he quickly regretted, but it was too late - his new girlfriend was already pregnant. Don't rush, OP. If it's meant to be, waiting a little longer won't be a bad thing.

I married young. I was 19 and he was 22. We dated a year and had a 3 mo. engagement. Although much of my family was wary, they went along with it. People do change. I am different that what I was just 2 years ago and so is he. We still love each other. If you are certain, I advise pre-marital counseling (: never a bad idea. It helps to make sure all the important bullet points have been addressed. Just realize that you will have to work hard to grow together as individuals and not apart! It has been a rough ride, a lot of learning... and loving :) Basically, good luck and congrats!

The age difference doesn't matter, it's the fact you've been with him a year! I've been with my husband for 7 years and I'm only just learning who he really is. You're also very young, OP. You'll both be very different people in 5 years. Completely different people in 10! It very well could work out but I think it's normal for your parents to be weary.

You guys are idiots for needing your parents' blessing.

Is there any way you could date for a bit longer and have a bit of a longer engagement? Also, are your parents the type that lodge a lot against the 'traditional' man asking dad for hand in marriage kind of stuff? Mine were and although we all got on anyway, my dad said he appreciated the gesture.

Your parents are smart for not letting you guys do that, it could be a huge mistake. 1 year is nothing compared to the 50+ years you'll have to spend together as a married couple. You barely know someone in 1 years time. I've dated my BF for almost 2 years and there are still new things we find out about each other all the time. Just take your time, marriage isn't something to be taken lightly.

Hey Op, I think it's great that you're in love. I met my fiancée when I was 17 and he was 18, and we fell in love quick. We made the decision to move in together when we'd only been together a year, and honestly, I think that's the way to go. They say it takes 3-4 years to really know someone, and that people who wait that long to marry have a better chance of making it. I think there's some truth in that. 1 or even 2 years isn't long enough, especially without ever living with someome. You learn all sorts of things you didn't know when you live with and sleep next to someone every night. I learned that my guy will let the house become a huge mess without ever cleaning it. Eventually, he has these weird manic bouts of cleanliness, in which he obsessively cleans 1-3 rooms to perfection, before getting distracted again. I also learned that he can be quite needy when he's sick, and gets upset if I don't check on him every hour or two. He and I have been together for 5 years now, and we both know each others habits, good and bad. We're getting married next month. People never stop growing and changing, so the trick I think is growing and changing together. Unfortunately, knowing weather you'll continue to be compatible as you two grow takes a fair amount of time. On the plus side, that gives you plenty of time to save up for a wedding, that way you can do it even without parental help, if indeed they still don't agree with the marriage after you've been together for a few years

I created an account just to say that I know a lot of people are saying that only dating for a year before getting engaged is too short a time, but I was with my fiance only 4 months before we got engaged and we are still going strong now years later. Yes, we're young and are having a long engagement before actually getting married, but doing so has allowed us to save up for a wedding that we'd both love and to plan our lives together properly now before already being tied down to things. We've been able to grow stronger as a couple this way and I wouldn't change it for the world, even though people doubted us in the beginning. I know things don't work out so smoothly for every couple, but sometimes when you know someone is the one, you just know.