Transitioning into Marriage

http://clipart-library.com/marriage-proposal-cliparts.html

So you've dated around, became exclusive with "the one," and now you're engaged. Engagement is the commitment to become one forever. Not just for the wedding day. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who tend to prepare more for the wedding than for the marriage, and that is only preparing those couples for a divorce. Being engaged is a golden time for couples because there are opportunities and challenges you can work through together to prepare yourselves for marriage. For example, one of the biggest challenges that engaged couples face is money. The average wedding costs around $30,000. Now, where does that money come from? Especially if you're still a college student? Well, you take what you can from mom and dad, use your savings, and use credit. Even that may not be enough, so where does that land you? Weddings are so expensive that people may decide to delay their wedding which leads to cohabitation. Cohabitation may lead to you never getting married or putting off having kids which weakens the family unit. If you use credit then you'll start your marriage in debt, and borrowing from anyone, including parents, allows them to hold that favor over your head for a very long time.

However, money can also be an opportunity for engaged couples. Couples can use their time of engagement to practice planning together, allocating resources, and budgeting. You can also grow closer as a team to meet your goals for the marriage by making decisions together. It also really tests how open your communication is because that is the number one key to successful relationships.

You see, these simple elements for a successful marriage is not a mystery, so why doesn't everyone just do this? Frankly, people are lazy or just don't want to try because they're too caught up in the details of a wedding. It's not a secret that generally girls fantasize and plan their wedding as early as when they learn how to draw, so it is important to learn and use perspective so that bride doesn't leave the groom out of all the plans. It is also important - and I can't stress this enough - that we stop investing more time in a wedding than a marriage. There is no doubt that the wedding day is an important milestone in that couple's life, but it is one day out of eternity.

https://www.christart.com/clipart/image/wedding-rings

Now that the wedding is over and the couple celebrates the beginning of the rest of forever together, they can just enjoy each other's company and live the rest of their lives in bliss, right? I believe so many married couples would willingly laugh at that statement and respond with, "no." The first year of being married establishes patterns for the rest of the marriage. This is why the engagement stage was important in taking advantage of those opportunities. Being married means you get to decide how to solve problems and make decisions together. This can be a hard transition because now your family backgrounds come into play. Most people resort back to how they were raised because they are familiar with it, so when you are raised in two different families with different backgrounds it can be challenging trying to mesh those two styles together. Especially when the biggest life-altering adjustment comes into your life: having children. Now, the two of you really have to communicate and work together to strengthen your home and raise a family.

Obviously, there is not one right way to do everything. What works for one family may not be as successful with the next, but it all depends on the couple and how they decide to run their show and run it together. Marriage is an exciting time, and most would agree it's the most rewarding experience. Overall, it is important to remember to focus on preparing yourself for the transitions you will make in marriage rather than putting all your energy into a wedding because marriage is not easy, but it is worth it.