No, it's just a convention that you can choose to ignore if you like.

No. But its nice to have a significant other there with you

Not at all.

sure, but for the RIGHT reasons and at the RIGHT time. but you don't have to.

If you're a golddigger I suppose.

No. and if your a man, its not smart or recomended either. First off most women marry for money, secondly once your married your sex life dies, and third, how boring would it be to have sex with only one (the same person) for your life? If your a man your woman will most likely divorce you anyways cuz she's bored, you dont pay enough attention, or she cheats on you, and then cleans your wallet and leaves you homeless in divorce court. No marrige is not necessary nor would i recomend it.

Benefits of Marriage According to Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, the current U.S. marriage rate is the lowest it has ever been, men and women are delaying first marriages, the divorce rate has doubled since 1960, and the number of cohabiting couples has increased by more than a factor of 10. Yet Maher’s research shows that marriage benefits children through complementary parental roles, in which children develop their conscience and their self-worth and their capacity for intimacy and empathy through their emotional bond with their mothers, while involved fathers contribute to their emotional health, academic achievement, and higher job status as adults. Children with married parents are less likely to engage in risky behavior such as premarital sex, substance abuse, delinquency and suicide. They learn a template for future marriage, and according to Judith Wallerstein, are “reasonably happy” even in a home with an unhappy marriage. They suffer less abuse and neglect, have better health, enjoy more economic security, and achieve higher academic scores. Marriage benefits adults, who have better health than the unmarried, enjoy longer life spans, are less prone to suicide, and enjoy higher incomes. Marriage is the safest relationship for women, while cohabiting couples report rates of physical aggression that are three times higher than those reported by married couples. And marriage benefits society through fewer abortions, safer homes, safer communities, less premarital sex (due to parental influence), less poverty and more wealth, more marriage and less divorce, and less government and lower taxes as fewer welfare programs are needed or used by those in strong marriages. Teen childbearing alone costs U.S. taxpayers about $7 billion per year for welfare, incarceration, and foster care costs. ********************************* http://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/SWLT2%20TEXT.htm http://tinyurl.com/Right-Age-To-Marry

No it's not.