What to expect the first year of marriage

Is this your first year of marriage?

Now that all that wedding planning is over and you have experienced the joy of the wedding celebration, it is important to know what to expect in your first year as husband and wife. If you did not attend any pre-marriage prep programs to discuss your expectations of your new roles in the marriage, this is the time to begin the dialogue between you. The first year of marriage sets the style of how you will handle your expectations of marriage in later years.

New couples bring their own expectations of what they believe marriage should be based on what they have witnessed: watching their own parents relationships, their married friends relationships, and how they have seen married couples portrayed in movies and social media.

The first thing to expect in your first year of marriage, is that it is normal to experience a range of emotions as you settle into being married. You can experience feeling excited that you have a life long partner who loves you and feeling anxious as you feel the responsibility of being legally, financially and spiritually bound together.  The key is being aware of your feelings and communicating them to your spouse so they understand that your feelings are not about being upset with them for something.

Learning to share with each other what your expectations are in the marriage, helps to identify any differences that need to be discussed.  For example, what do you consider your role or your spouses role in this marriage?

For more examples of what to expect in this important first year of marriage, click on the listen tab of this website to hear podcast episode #18 titled What to expect the first year of marriage.

(photo by Andy Holmes)