Many people believe it may be advisable for couples to live together before getting married, as it may lead to a smoother relationship after they have married.
I tend to agree with such opinions, as I find the arguments that usually support them to be quite reasonable. For example, it is commonly said that people act differently when they are at home and when they are outside. People instinctively tend to be more relaxed and off-guard when at home, whereas in social situations they usually make an effort, even if unconsciously, to be more likable and to conceal the less agreeable aspects of their personality from others, even their partners. Because of this, it is usual to hear that one does not truly know someone until one has lived with that person.
In extreme cases, cohabitation before marriage could even prevent couples from entering into a marriage that is bound to fail and will lead to unhappiness. Considering this possibility seems reasonable, as marriage is not only an emotional bond, but also a legal one, and undoing it is usually upsetting, time-consuming and costly.
Another reason I find cohabitation before marriage to be a sensible choice is that, as minor disagreements and conflicts are usually inevitable during the first months of cohabitation, it is preferable to pass through that stage before getting married than to add such problems to a period which in itself can already be stressful, such as the few weeks before the ceremony and the weeks following.
What I have said up to this point reflects my opinion, but it must be noted I did not put any of it into practice when I got married. Indeed, my wife and I decided to move in together only a few weeks before the ceremony. This decision was due to the fact that her family is quite old-fashioned, and moving in together before would undoubtedly have caused them pain, even if we had our reasons for doing so and they would have understood them. No degree of persuasion would have avoided or removed such pain. We found the long-term benefits of a stable and close relationship with her family to be more important than the discomfort of not moving in together, and we ultimately decided to do it only once the ceremony was planned.