The long years may transform complexions, attitudes, aptitudes and physiology, but long life rarely changes the heart’s yearning for love and passion.

While functions of aged human bodies may operate at cantankerously slower paces requiring more frequent visits to the repair shop, that zest for living still drives older folks forward to new marital horizons. They may be called septuagenarians, octogenarians, nonagenarians, centenarians and even super centenarians, but discovering nuptial bliss may still be flying on their radar screens.

Our wedding planner at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club specializes in assembling and organizing fairy tale wedding ceremonies, and age and predisposition are never a factor in enjoying the most beautiful and grandest occasion of a lifetime: You can get happily married at any age.

Marriage still ranks as a top priority in most people’s lives.

According to Pew Research Center, most people (61 percent) who have never married want to get married. About 12 percent say they do not want to get married while 27 percent are not sure.

People are waiting longer in life to get married: The median age for women to get married rose 4.3 years to 25.1 in the last 50 years; for men, the age rose 3.6 years to 26.8, according to ABC News.

Most people marry only once: 54 percent of men and 60 percent of women, according to Proactive Change. Thirteen percent of men and women have been married two times while 3 percent have married three or more times.

Ninety-six percent of Americans in their 70s and beyond have been married at least once, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Several factors play a part in the upward trend in the age people marry, according to Business Insider.

• People are living together longer.
• People are living alone more and forlonger
• A growing number of people are going to college.
• Families are smaller.

Why are marriage rates on the rise among older couples? Experts say it has to do with the changing notion of age. Care2, a social networking site, states that older single women wanting to date and get married (or remarried) are looking for compatible companionship. Most aren’t seeking marriage for financial stability.

With older men, the stereotypical perception that they want to marry for sex is at least partially true, according to researchers. (Drugs for ED have helped promulgate that desire.)  But finding compatible companionship is also key.

Older widows and widowers – who had long, happy marriages – don’t initially start dating or even contemplating remarriage. The media, however, tend to lure them into the fold after a while with dating sites and communities targeting older people. The idea resonates when they imagine their spouse wanting them to live their remaining years happy and fulfilled.

The number of older couples heading to the altar will continue to rise as life spans get longer and advances in medical science improve the quality of seniors’ later years. Stories abound of elderly couples finding love in their twilight years.

We at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club want to make your wedding the best day of your life. Contact Julianne Cuomo, Director of Celebrations, at 352-402-4376. Julianne has been nominated for a Weddi Award, The Art of Being Exceptional. Show your support by voting for her!