Take our honeymoon straight away. We decided to wait and take our time to plan a big trip after we got married, which was in November 2019…
Nothing
Nothing at all.
Take a much more relaxed approach to the whole thing. We were young at the time and so worried about the expectations of our families that we forgot to make it into a fun day for ourselves.
Same. If it were just up to the wife and I we would’ve simply gone to the courthouse and signed some stuff but we decided on a ceremony because it was “important to our families” and did things more traditionally than if it were only the two of us. We would’ve had a lot more fun with the whole thing if we could have just realized that the day was for us and about us and should’ve been done our way.
We we had been living together for two years and had kids. My mom wanted us to do a small ceremony at a beautiful park near her house but i was resistant. We did the courthouse alone and then just went home. I wish we had listened to her and really celebrated with at least our parents present. Looking back it feels like we made a business transaction out of what could have been a fun, romantic day. Just had our 30th anniversary.
I’m on my second (and very likely last) marriage, and that’s what I’ve tried to impress on my kids. I’d like to be there when they get married, even if it’s just a courthouse thing, and after that I have no expectations for what they do. My first kid eloped, and I was disappointed I couldn’t be there, but was still happy for them.
We eloped, and have no pictures. A couple pictures is all I want.
I guess not something that I would change, but I’m very glad we started with a marriage counselor. We did not have any overbearing concerns, but it has been immensely helpful in understanding each other and having a healthier relationship. Sometime people get weird and say “Oh no, a counselor, what’s wrong with your relationship.” Nothing. That is the point. Talk to one to get a baseline and when (not if) challenges come up, you don’t have to waste sessions filling them on your back story. Honestly, I think it should be required to do like three sessions before signing the papers, if nothing else to have someone point some things out that youre blind to otherwise about yourself.
Yes, I wish we had done this then as well. I also would tell myself what my migraine triggers are, so that I could try to avoid getting the worst one ever the day after the wedding. I started the honeymoon on hard mode, and didnt get to enjoy the initial travel. It took a couple days to subside and then honeymoon was great.
