Is anyone ever ready for marriage? Although loving someone and having the seemingly perfect relationship both probably sound like enough for you to rush to the altar, getting married requires more than just love. For many, there are some signs that let you truly know it's time to say "I do" and cross the threshold into an eternity together.

It may be easy to fall into the societal reasons of why you should rush to get married, but while you're going down your list of points to prove why you're ready, remember that a wedding is for a day, but your marriage will last you a lifetime. Here are some signs that you and your partner are ready to take that next step.

You want to get married.

Before you walk down the aisle, it’s important to fully understand that along with the happy times, and the moments where your partner will exceed your expectations, there will be moments when he or she will disappoint you. Marriage is not a perfect fairy tale like many of us were taught to believe growing up. You know this, understand it deeply, and still want to spend the rest of your life with your partner. You want to put in the hard work to make the marriage one that loves and will last a lifetime. You are completely excited for the next step, and your partner is too.

You want a marriage, not just a wedding.

Weddings are fun parties, a chance to see all your friends and family in one place. Is this why you’re getting married though? Do you just want to have a big party and be the center of attention? Weddings last several hours, but a marriage lasts forever. Don’t plan for one day—plan for the rest of your lives.

There are pictures of tuxedos and white dresses all over your Facebook feed—is that what you want? Do you just want to be able to say you’re married, or do you really want to spend your life with your partner? What benefits will you get from marrying your partner, as opposed to continuing your relationship as it is? Ask yourself the hard questions and make sure you’re ready for marriage.

You don't want to date any longer.

Remember that hot bartender at your favorite dive? They don't even register on your radar. You are too focused on who you truly love and care about. Yeah, you can appreciate a cute person that walks by, but the only person who makes your heart flutter is your future-spouse.

You don't worry about your past relationships either, because you would rather give you undivided attention to this one relationship. You don't have a desire to play any games or be the center of attention all the time. Instead, you are ready to settle down and focus on the two of you.

You don't want your partner to change.

You know you are ready for marriage when you have zero desire to change anything about the person you are with. While you might get into tiffs and you know no one is perfect, you aren't going into the marriage hoping it will force them to be a different person. You are marrying them because you love exactly who they are.

You can resolve conflicts together.

Resolving conflicts and compromising in a relationship will make a strong foundation for a healthy marriage. If you can’t work out any issues you have now, then you won't be able to when you are married either. You and your partner need to learn how to effectively communicate, so that when problems do arise you aren't headed for the door.

You share life goals.

While you don’t have to know where you’ll settle down or what careers you’ll each stick with throughout your entire lives, one really important sign that you all are ready for marriage is that you both have similar ideas when it comes to long-term life goals. These are all-encompassing factors such as whether or not you’ll have children. You need to be crystal clear about where your partner stands on issues like this so there are no problems down the line. You should know the main things you need in a partner to make a relationship work for the long-term.

You think in terms of "we".

You say things like "we would love to meet you for dinner" and "we love watching that TV show". While you are still you own person and have an amount of independence, you notice you automatically include your significant other in your thinking. You don't make choices without them and take into account how things you do would make them feel. Instead of focusing on just yourself, you choose (and want) to do things that are the best for the both of you.

Marriage is a huge commitment, but it is also something that is incredibly exciting. If you have many of these qualities above, then you are ready to take that next step and get married. Your relationship is strong enough and ready for the future.