There’s a reason that so many marriages between very young people end in divorce: Young people don’t have the experience to know whether or not they’re choosing the ideal person. If you’re older and haven’t gotten hitched yet, you’re in the unique position to make the right choice the first time. After all, nobody wants to end up going through a divorce. While there’s no way to guarantee anything, there are ways to avoid making a truly terrible mistake. How?

DW outlines a few of the very best tips and tricks below.

Marry Someone Who You’re Proud Of:

You should never feel ashamed of the person who you are married to. Your wife should be someone who you are proud to squire about town, as it were. You should be excited about spending time with her, and you should have no qualms about introducing her to everyone in your life. If something about your potential spouse’s personality makes you reluctant to bring her around your friends and family, you’re probably not making the very best choice. Needless to say, you should make a point of bringing your serious girlfriend around your friends and family before popping the question, in order to gauge whether it’s a good fit or not.

Marry Someone Who Will Support You:

No, this tip doesn’t imply that you should marry a woman for her money, or that you should seek out a "sugar mama." It just means that you should marry someone who will truly be your partner. She should back you up no matter what - well, within reason. You should never doubt that she’ll be in your corner, even if you have to make some very difficult choices. If you feel uncertain about whether or not your spouse-to-be will really be there for you through thick and thin, you might want to hold off on exchanging I Dos.

Marry Someone Who is Fun to be Around:

Some people would argue that your spouse should be your best friend. This doesn’t mean that you should ditch your existing best friend; what it means, though, is that your wife should be someone who you really want to hang around. If you avoid spending time with her as much as possible right now, what do you think you’re going to do after you tie the knot? You have to make sure that she’s someone who you’ll happily spend one day after another with. If she’s not that person, you should hold off and wait until the right one comes along.

There is, of course, a lot more to take into consideration when deciding whether or not to marry someone. However, it’s a lot easier to break things off before getting married, as opposed to after the fact. As always, there are no guarantees in life; however, you should feel as positive as possible about the woman who you make your wife. In the long run, it will pay off for you in spades.