While it may be normal and accepted, whenever I see a FB wall post that tells me someone is moving in with someone else, buying a house with them, and so on, all without getting married, I have to ask what is preventing them from doing something that is either just a mere formality or is actually something so important that they need to plan a big party for it. (Perhaps it is not the marriage that is being celebrated but the festive occasion itself. Or it is a display of narcissism.) When people have a simulacrum of a marriage, why shouldn't they faces the legal consequences of having one? Ah yes, there is the question of intention and consent. So they're not "ready" for marriage yet, but they're ready for the next step in the relationship, which may last from a year to ten years, during which time they might ("accidentally") have a child or two.

People can make bad decisions, but I'm not going to call that a right or defend it.