You've received some good advice here. One thing I'd add to that is that marriage magnifies things. The good things and the bad. At least it magnifies how you feel about them. It may seem over rational, but I would consider a Ben Franklyn list. List the good on one side and the bad on the other side of the paper. This isn't a judgmental kind of exercise or comparing him to prince charming but more of "I like this and probably always will....(good) I don't like this about him and probably won't tolerate it for long (bad) etc. Also get to know people who have had relationships with him long term ie family, people from church, old friends etc. If he hasn't had many long term relations you probably won't be one either? Also if they barely care to admit they know him this isn't good, however if they sing his praises and are happy to give/loan/trust whatever that's probably a good sign that he's a giving person that has and can invest in relationships with others. (There's a lot of selfish son's of female dogs out there- you want to make sure he's not one of them!) Just a handy point of reference you might say. I've come to know and notice that trend a little too well in people I've tried to get close to. ouch!~ I guess meeting people they've had relationships with is like a relationship credit report. Marriage is kind of high stakes (high risk/ high reward) so I'd go for it once I could assess the risk and how it fit me. Meeting and talking w. people of their past gets you that quick.