You’ve married your partner. You’ve planned and enjoyed a beautiful wedding in the company of loved ones. And you’ve returned from your honeymoon with a host of memories to cherish. Now it’s time to start your life as newlyweds together.
However, you both may make mistakes while navigating this exciting period in your relationship, and it’s crucial that you handle them together to stay strong.
To help make your first year or so as newlyweds a little easier, here are five do’s and five don’ts to bear in mind.
Do still make the effort to be romantic
Romance may take a backseat for newlyweds, and it’s so easy to stop putting in the effort you used to. Everything from work to household chores can leave you with less time and energy to dedicate to dating. But it’s critical to keep the spark alive between yourself and your wife or husband.
One way to do that is to go on at least one date each week. That might mean going to the movies, eating out, sharing a bottle of wine at a bar, or anything else you enjoy doing as a couple. Look at your wedding rings. Discuss your honeymoon. Be friends as well as lovers.
Spending time together on dates will give you time to chat, laugh, and remember why you got married in the first place.
Do communicate about your feelings on marriage
Now that you’re married, you know everything about each other, right? You don’t have anything new to learn about your wife or husband, do you? And you don’t have anything you want to get off your chest either?
Well, that’s all highly unlikely to be true. You’re both sure to have things on your mind you want to talk about, even if you’re worried about bringing them up.
For instance, maybe your husband leaves his sweaty socks on the couch when he comes home from the gym and it drives you crazy. Or perhaps your wife makes fun of you in front of your friends and family, and you would like her to stop, only you have no idea how to broach the subject with her.
Communicating with your new wife or husband is essential to prevent small issues growing into bigger ones. Nip them in the bud, move past them, and be willing to work to stay strong as a couple.
Do respect one another’s space and privacy
If you’ve already lived with your partner for a number of years, sharing a home as newlyweds may feel no different than it did before. But if this is your first time living together, you may find adjusting to your new arrangement more difficult than you expect.
You might find that you love cozying up on the couch together, cooking meals together, watching television together, and doing virtually everything together so much that you never want to be away from your new husband or wife.
However, it’s important that you give one another space to be alone. This will be easier if one or both of you cherishes your private time. Perhaps you’re an avid gamer and can’t wait to play on your PS5 or Xbox Series X after a long day at work. Maybe you adore reading, and having a few hours alone to delve into a novel or comic-book is precious to you.
Whatever your hobbies, whatever their hobbies, keep making time for them. They’re a big part of who you both are. And you can enjoy telling one another about what you’re playing, reading, watching, or doing on your alone time later.
Don’t let small things cloud your view of one another
You may discover new things about your partner within the first six months or year of marriage. They may have gotten messier than they used to be, or they snore louder, or they always leave the toilet seat up.
Neither of you is perfect, and you’re bound to have little habits that irritate each other. But don’t allow these aspects of their character to overshadow your overall view of who they are, or else you could grow to resent them more than you realize.
Be honest enough with one another, and if you can stop doing something that causes problems, it’s worth considering.
Do still see your friends and loved ones
In the early days of your marriage, you might find it difficult to see your friends and family (either individually or as a couple) as much as you used to. That could be because you love spending time together, just the two of you, or that meeting up is less practical than before.
Whatever the case, you should still make an effort to see your friends and relatives if you want to. That could give you a chance to discuss your new marriage with someone other than your husband or wife. It will also give you both a break from each other and focus on the other relationships in your life.
Don’t judge your marriage in comparison to others
Your marriage might not be as perfect as others seem to be. For instance, a sibling or friend could appear to have a wonderful, fulfilling, passionate marriage, but they likely still experience challenging periods even if they don’t talk about them.
If you feel frustrated that your marriage isn’t as exciting or adventurous as you hoped it would be, don’t let that affect your view of how your relationship really is. Especially if you’re actually happy with your marriage, but worry about it being different from some other couples’ on the surface.
Do plan things to look forward to together
The build-up to a wedding is an exciting time. Buying the wedding rings. Looking for the best cakes to match your wedding theme. Exploring honeymoon ideas. There’s a lot to look forward to.
But once this period passes, you may feel … well, as if you’re not sure what else to be excited for. That can leave one or both of you feeling blue.
However, you need to remember that there are lots of great new things out there for you to do together.
Explore hobbies. Discuss vacation ideas for the years ahead. Try to find creative activities you can experiment with as a couple.
What have you always wanted to do? Where have you always wanted to go? Yes, the wedding was fantastic, but you’re starting a new chapter in your life — see where it can lead.
Don’t get jealous if they want to socialize with other people
If your wife or husband had an active social life before, they will probably still want to see their friends often. Just because you wear wedding rings now and have exchanged wedding vows doesn’t mean that they have to stop enjoying the company of pals.
They may find that being around other people helps them appreciate their relationship with you more, and that they spend most of their time with others thinking about you.
However, if one person in a marriage feels jealous of the other because they want to maintain their social life, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. It may be that they don’t have any close friends of their own, or any number of other reasons.
Don’t forget how happy you felt on your wedding day
Hopefully, your wedding day was one of the happiest days of your life. You created memories that you can look back on for decades, and you feel good about everything you achieved as a couple on that day.
If you find that you bicker or struggle to adjust to being newlyweds, remember how you felt on your wedding day. Look at your wedding rings and think about what they symbolize. Focus on what made you want to marry your partner and what keeps you in love with them.
Don’t expect your marriage to always be easy
Living together as newlyweds, it’s natural to have disagreements and lose your patience with one another. Little issues come and go, and strong couples put unimportant arguments behind them, then move on.
But your first argument as a married couple can be difficult. You might worry that it’s a bad sign, or that you’re sure to have lots more in the future. That may not turn out to be the case, though.
Ultimately, marriage takes commitment, work, and knowing when to say sorry to your husband or wife. A strong, happy marriage is worth investing time and effort into.
Are you ready for your wedding?
We hope our list of five do’s and five don’ts for newlyweds help your marriage get off to a strong start.
If you and your partner are planning your wedding, you know there’s a lot to consider. The venue. The caterer. And, of course, the wedding rings.
MADANI can make finding the perfect wedding rings for you and your partner simple. Our collection includes beautiful men’s and women’s rings in cobalt, platinum, gold, white gold, and more.
Browse our collection to find the ideal rings for your wedding today.
