Lets talk about the love of my life, shall we?

I admire you for being very steadfast in your beliefs. I think you have to wait until you're 18 before you can marry anyway, without parental consent, so you'll probably be waiting at least a little while before you get married. I don't know the dynamics of your relationship, so I'm not going to judge you.

I fell madly in love with my boyfriend a month or so after we got together, and we started planning to get married shortly after that. But we've been in a relationship for 2 years now, and neither of us want to get married until we're at least finished with college. Which means another 2 1/2 years, at least. We're in a very strong relationship, we just don't want to take it to the next step until we're both ready, for various reasons. It's not that we don't love each other enough to make that committment, it's simply that we're happy where we are now, and we want to get our separate lives straight before we officially start our life together.

So, while I"m sure you love him (I don't doubt you on that for a second), marriage isn't the only thing to solidify a relationship. You could have a serious relationship for a long time before you make that committment. If you think you're ready to make that committment, knowing you won't have the support of any of your family (by the sound of it), then power to you. I wish you the best. Do it as soon as it's legal to do so. Good luck in whatever you do.

~C
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Elope is so... nineteenth century...

I don't want to encourage or discourage you because I'd need more info before I could pass wise judgment, but it's always nice to have your family not on your bad side.

-edit-

the two people below me have some good thoughts.

I find it great that you are so deep in love with Chris but think really, really sharp and deep before you make a life-changing decision. I mean, it's not a real wedding and stuff but I am sure that will affect your life in many different ways. To elope with someone you have been together for only a month ( I rounded it down if you don't mind ) doesn't promise you anything. What I mean is that you two aren't together long enough ( my opinion ) to get married.
For instance, look at mvenus. She is together since more than two years and they were probably like you and Chris at the beginning. Were madly in love, wanted to marry as soon as possible. However, they didn't for whatever reason I don't know. But waiting for the right opportuniy and give marriage time is very important. Even though you really want to elope with your boyfriend, you still need to wait. Are you sure it's the right guy? Well could be or not be. A lot of marriages nowadays go down because people married "the wrong guy." I don't want to say that he is not the right guy or so, but you are never sure until you are together with him for a long time.
My other point is about your parents. Who pays for you? Who supports you? Mostly, who cares about you the most? I am sure it's your parents but prove me if I am wrong. I assume that there is a reason for them why they don't allow you to get married. If you elope with Chris, you will turn 180 degress and make steps away from them. From the people who trust you.
This is all my opinion and what I think about marriages or elopements with people who are very young. But before you do, think about your parents and most of all your life because all decisions that you make will affect your life the most.
/
/van.

SRY I double-posted it ... didn't mean to...

I would recommend that you wait at least a year or so before seriously considering marriage. First of all because a month is hardly enough time to know somebody before pledging to spend your entire life with him.

Why a year? Because the initial lovey high feeling that you get when you fall in love with somebody is caused by a brain chemical called dopamine and usually lasts about a year. If you pass that period and still feel committed to each other, then reopen discussion of marriage.

And I really think you should consider the fact that you wouldn't have a wedding with your family, friends and loved ones all around to celebrate and support you. You may decide years down the line that you wish you had a "real wedding." My mother does. She married my father with just a priest, a magistrate and two witnesses (and each other, obviously); although she wouldn't change having married him, she wishes it could've been in a more traditional setting with her loved ones around her.

And lastly, to make an additional suggestion that may help with the earlier one. Before getting married, how about having a trial period where you move in with each other temporarily and act as you would if you were married (though I'm not saying to have sex if you're planning to wait until your married). This kind of experiment can give you a chance to get the feel of how married life is going to be and to get you used to living with him full time (which will bring up quirks and annoyances that you haven't noticed before). I would recommend this for a minimum of six months, so it has a chance to really work as a marriage-meter.

Just remember that marriage is something far to special to rush into, and it's better to wait a little bit (a year is not too much to ask, I think, to get to know each other) and have a great fulfilling marriage than to marry too soon and realize you really aren't right for each other after all; staying in a loveless marriage (or one in which you discover you truly love someone else) and divorcing are always situations to try to avoid if possible.

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"Our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Live one day at a time, emphasizing ethics rather than rules."
-Wayne Dyer

I understand where all of you are comming from and have considered all of your arguments long before I read them. And when we graduate we are moving in together. Just because we are engaged doesnt mean that we plan on getting married soon. We just wanted to step up our commitment to each other. And, being 17, I'll have to wait 10 months before I am legal to get married anyways.
And about the parents thing, well my dad is in jail for child support and child services is keeping an eye on my mother...so the parent argument isn't really doing much of anything.
Thank you all for posting and I look forward to more in the future.