::All About Marriage:: Tips for Success

Beth blogs over at dot...in the city and is an absolute doll.  She lives in Boston, which gives her major bonus points.  Beth knows how to be honest and funny and personable in print.  I couldn't ask for more!  Love her and her blog.  So thrilled she is joining this little marriage series.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, I'm Beth and I blog regularly at dot...in the city.  I was thrilled when Shannon asked me to guest post about my marriage in celebration of her own five year anniversary!  Let's hear it for wedding anniversaries!  Marriage is not always be easy, but there is a lot to celebrate.  Here's to Shannon and Mark!

Brandon and I have been married since May 15, 2010.  It was a beautiful spring day in Massachusetts and I was so thankful we didn't have to use our "Plan B" and move the wedding ceremony inside.  I will always remember it as a picture perfect day and felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many of our family and friends.

As I already mentioned, we quickly learned marriage isn't always easy and carries with it great responsibility.   One wise thing I was told while we were getting ready for "the big day" was that we "were not preparing for a wedding, but a marriage."  In the midst of today's overly saturated wedding market, it is a challenge for any bride (and groom) to keep the idea of marriage rather than wedding day at the forefront of their mind.  Now I tell my friends when they get engaged, to keep this idea in mind when they go to any wedding vendor.  Pause for a moment and pray about it.

Having over a year of marriage experience, there are several things that allow us to celebrate our marriage:

1. Prayer - we do our best to pray together every night before going to sleep and at other times (at the start of our day, before each meal eaten together).  We also pray on our own, but praying together has become a really great habit...just in the last month or so. Matthew 18:20 was my parent's marriage verse and taught me a lot about prayer.
2. Date night - since we don't have kids yet, we try to do this once a week and it doesn't always mean going out to eat.  We do something just the two of us, often leaving our cell phones at home.  Once we got a flat tire (in our driveway) but still walked to the grocery store to get ice cream and have a fun night.
3. Community - when we got married we had a really solid community of friends who lived close by, but we moved last spring and have struggled to find new friends.  The period of searching for that new community brought us closer together and sparked conversations about what we value most in other friends and one another. 

Those are just a few of the many things we're learning about marriage, and not to mention one another.  Marriage is a gift and I am so grateful to be be sharing it with Brandon.  I probably would not have believed it if someone told me just three years ago when I took a job in Massachusetts that in 2011 I would be a wife and homeowner.  Marriage is a blessing and I am so glad Shannon asked me to reflect on it.  Happy Anniversary, Shannon and Mark!

all photos taken by Meaghan Elliott and used by permission