Present Tense – ‘Will Get Married’ vs ‘Getting Married’

Using the present tense for future events indicates certainty, consistency, and familiarity. In other words, use this to talk about events which will happen, which happen on a regular basis (or are predictable in some way), and about which you have some personal knowledge.

The holidays start next week.

I know this happens every year, last year I saw it happen in the same way, and I am sure it will happen the same way this year.

The train leaves in five minutes

I know the train leaves at a specific time, I know that trains usually leave on time, and I have seen the schedule to confirm when the train will leave.

The gala event starts tomorrow

I have personal knowledge that it is scheduled for tomorrow, I know that events like this usually start on schedule, and I feel comfortable asserting that it will definitely happen.

If any of these three does not exist, there is uncertainty, and the future tense will be more appropriate.

We get paid on Friday

I know this happens with some consistency and regularity, as I've already received at least one paycheck on Friday.

We will get paid on Friday

Oops, now there is some doubt. I hope this will happen, but I'm not sure it'll happen.

Here's another example: given no other context, consider these two sentences:

He will make the winning shot of the game in twenty seconds.

He makes the winning shot of the game in twenty seconds.

The first indicates a future condition, but the context is unclear. Do I really know this will happen? Probably not. More likely I'm expressing an opinion, or a personal hope.

But the second sentence, that expresses an odd certainty. The context is either that we are watching a recording of the game which I have seen before, or that I'm psychic, and I've already seen this happen with my mental powers.

Correct me if I'm wrong - are you talking about someone you'd like to become closer to over the next year? If so, I'd probably say something like:

I hope we get to know each other better during that time.

or

I hope we become closer during that time.

When you talk about "getting closer", that often has a romantic undertone, so it's more appropriate with someone you have a romantic interest in. Friends like to "get to know" each other and "stay in touch" so that they are in each other's lives.

In terms of usage, when you express hope about something in the future, you don't need to explicitly use the future tense, since the verb "hope" itself implies a future event in this case:

• I hope I see you at the bar tonight.
• I hope she gets the job she really wants.
• I hope your team wins the championship next week.

Expressions with "get to", like in your example "get to be closer", usually mean "get a chance to":

• "I hope I get to see you before you leave" means "I hope I have the chance to see you before you leave."
• "I'll never get to drive such an expensive car" similarly means "I'll never have the chance to drive such an expensive car."

So "I hope we get to be close" sounds like "I hope we have a chance to be close", but I think what you mean is that you want to become close. "I hope we are close" is the kind of thing you would tell the parents of someone you are marrying, or the son/daughter you didn't know you had and just met, and in that context it means "I hope we're not going to be strangers, but rather that we're going to treat each other as people who are close".