I'm a fan of matrimony

I don't know where people get the idea that I'm all loosey-goosey when it comes to the idea and practice of marriage.
I'm a big fan of marriage. I got myself one 25 years ago and it's purring along like it's brand new. I happen to think that, in many cases, shacking up is the coward's way out. (Although, there are exceptions: senior citizens who simply can't afford the financial hit that tying the knot would occasion, for example)
It is true that many of the couples I married in my years as pastor were enjoying milk without actually buying the cow.
I've known ministers who ask couples who are living together to separate until the wedding. I'm not sure if they insisted on this if the less-than-sacramental union had resulted in children. Either way, it seems an undue burden to put on folks who are getting with the program.
As people of faith, don't we want to make it easy for people to do the right thing? If getting married is the right thing, is it necessary to excoriate folks or penalize those who may have been a little slow in coming around to the joys of sanctified union?