When we first meet Paris, he is in talks with Lord Capulet about marrying Juliet. Lord Capulet reminds Paris that Juliet is young and, while girls her age do sometimes marry, it would be better for her health if they waited two more years. He concludes the meeting by emphasizing that Juliet must give her consent to marry, and he, Lady Capulet, and the Nurse all encourage Juliet to look upon Paris with a favorable eye.
After Romeo has killed Tybalt, however, Lord Capulet changes his mind about waiting two years and needing Juliet's consent. Perhaps seeing how dangerous Verona could be for his young daughter, he decides that Juliet and Paris will wed immediately, thus taking her away from the city. When she does not immediately agree, he threatens to disown her. Although this may appear to be the ravings of a cold-hearted father, it seems likely that Lord Capulet is afraid for his daughter's life and shaken after the death of his nephew; he feels that marrying Paris is the best thing for her.
Early in the play, Count Paris approaches Lord Capulet—not for the first time, it seems, as Capulet references what he has "said before" about marrying Juliet. Capulet continues to feel that Juliet is too young to marry, at only thirteen years old. He says, "Let two more summers wither in their pride / Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride" (1.2.10-11). In other words, he wants Paris to wait another two years before asking Juliet to be his wife, as this would bring her to the ripe old age of fifteen. He believes girls who get married too young are "marred" by it. Further, Capulet tells Paris, "woo her, [...] get her heart. / My will to her consent is but a part" (1.2.16-17). He encourages Paris to try to win Juliet's love in the meantime, because his own consent is only one part of what is needed for their marriage to go forward. He says that Juliet's own consent is also needed.
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