Marriage Preparation Tips for the Bride
Flowers, venue, dress, ring, and catering are few of the many wedding details that occupy the mind of a bride. But once the wedding is over and the honeymoon is in the past, what’s next? No longer a bride, are you prepared to be a wife? Here are some simple marriage preparation tips to help you transition to your new role:
1. Pick your battles right
When two people, often from different cultures and social circles, get married, there will be many differences. When newly in love, you will ignore it when he does not make the bed every morning, leaves his clothes on the ground, plays endless video games, and snores. Once you get deeper into your marriage, these things and many more can become annoying.
However, the solution is not to create a battle out of the small things. If you battle over the minor stuff, you will not have a listening ear for the major issues. So before you start a battle, ask yourself – Can I live with this? Only pursue battles when the issue affects the love, trust and respect in the marriage. Before the wedding, take some time to think through how you will handle conflict together.
2.Talk about expectations
All relationships are built on expectations. We all have expectations and we often assume that our expectations are the same as his. Never assume, for example, that because you came from a home where your father always mowed the lawn, that your husband will do the same.
Expectations must be communicated clearly with love and explained within reason. Financial management, household duties and sex are the main areas of expectation that result in conflicts in a marriage. They must be discussed to ensure harmony and peace.In preparation for marriage, discuss your expectations with your future husband.
3. Learn the art of persuasion, not nagging
Men will always joke about their “nagging” wife, but it is far from a joke. It is a real problem that makes the difference between one year of marriage and decades of marriage. Men do not respond to nagging! Communicate your desires clearly, elicit a response from your partner and discuss compromise where possible.
Sometimes you may not get what you want at the time that you want it, but remember that communication needs to remain a two-way street in order to keep your marriage happy. As you prepare for the wedding, practice your persuasion skills when you want something from him so that you can begin learning how to avoid becoming a nag.
4. Facilitate and encourage effective communication
Lack of communication is a sure way to destroy a marriage. Effective communication is an art and takes some work. In a marriage you will need to develop this art.
Effective communication includes expressing your views without shouting and in a respectful tone and manner, listening to the views of your partner without interruption, and expressing what you understand to be your partner’s position and arriving at a conclusion that will please both parties. Start practicing that today, to ensure perfection in your marriage.
5. Keep the romance alive
When the wedding and the honeymoon is over and you are down from the high of it all, real life begins. You and your partner will return to your regular daily schedule and it is quite easy to neglect each other and before long the romance dies. In preparing for marriage decide from now on weekly or daily activities you will be committed to doing to keep the romance alive.
As a bride, this is the most exciting time of your life; but there is much more after the wedding. These preparation tips are a sure way to avoid problems in your marriage.
Want to have a happier, healthier marriage?
If you feel disconnected or frustrated about the state of your marriage but want to avoid separation and/or divorce, the marriage.com course meant for married couples is an excellent resource to help you overcome the most challenging aspects of being married.
Sylvia Smith loves to share insights on how couples can revitalize their love lives in and out of the bedroom. As a writer at Marriage.com, she is a big believer in living consciously and encourages couples to adopt this principle in their lives too. Sylvia believes that every couple can transform their relationship into a happier, healthier one by taking purposeful and wholehearted action.
