Dear Young Bride,

I was you. My husband and I got married six years ago this June, when we were 21 and 22 years old. This was young even by the conservative standards of the small southern town where I grew up. Jonathan and I didn’t know much about anything when we got married, but we knew we were in love, committed to each other and saw no reason to wait.

And it’s been six years, so I think I’m now in a place to give you some advice. Take the following with a grain of salt, as I know you will. You are young, after all. Here is my honest advice for you:

1. Marrying young is not for everyone. Be prepared.

I would not recommend that everyone get married at 22. When I hear now about people fresh out of college getting married, my first thought is “That’s not a great idea” before I remember that we were that age, too.

Read the rest over at YourTango.