Marriage is an exciting time of festivities, vows, cake, dancing, family, friends, and everything that goes with starting off your lives together.  However, after the wedding reception is over and the two of you go to your new home and life together, that’s when the real magic begins to happen.  Through good times and bad, through better and for worse, the two of you are now doing life as partners, and with that will come every challenge and every reward that seemed so far off when you were putting a ring on that finger.  While there are a number of ways to get your marriage off to a great start, we previously compiled a huge list of wedding advice and had such a great collection that we had to split it into two parts.

What’s The BEST Piece Of Wedding Advice You’ve Ever Gotten or Heard? Part 2

I’m one of those people that absolutely suck at knowing what to say when trying to comfort someone and I’ll always wind up saying something that just makes it worse…I think the best relationship advice I have ever received is that you don’t have to always verbally comfort them and you can still let them know you care by just being there – holding their hand or just sitting with them while they’re sad. This has saved me from saying the wrong thing so many times.

Not me but my mom. When she and my dad were on their second separation, she was out with her best friend and was venting about all the problems in the marriage and all the things she wanted him to change. Her friend asked her “What are you willing to change about yourself?” It made my mother think about how she negatively affected the marriage too and realize that if she wanted him to change things about himself, she needed to be willing to change things about herself and meet him halfway. They’ve been back together for over 25 years and have been going strong.

Do the small things.

“Can I show you this thing I made?”

“Want to walk the dog with me quickly?”

Just small stuff like that. I read somewhere that your willingness to do those things can determine a lot of your marriage. Sometimes I definitely don’t want to get off the couch and help my wife with something, but I know she really appreciates it when I do. It helps her feel loved and appreciated in ways that you just can’t when it’s only the big things.

Big things build the structure, little things fill in the gaps.

Communicate.

ANY issue that crops up we will tell each other. Even if it’s small or silly. That way nothing builds up over time.

From the very first time we met online we decided to be “bluntly honest” with each other, and it’s been absolutely awesome.

“Don’t do anything that will make the other persons day more difficult”. Simple, but still the best advice I’ve ever received. Miss ya’, Gramps.

“The grass is greener where you water it.”

That always stuck with me. Your relationship is what you make it. If you don’t put effort or love into it, it will die.

The whole idea that people express and interpret love differently.

I have very vocal and physically affectionate where my husband shows he loves me by doing things for me, like the dishes and grocery shopping. Things that need to get done and I don’t really enjoy doing.

It is sometimes very difficult for me to remember that he is doing those things because he loves me and not because it’s “his job” and also to remember when to make sure to do those things for him so he really feels like I love him too.

He has also had to learn to be more vocally and physically affectionate which is a huge change for him because his family hardly hugged or said i love you and almost never kissed.

we both love each other more than anything but sometimes it can get lost in translation.

When arguing, it’s “us vs. the problem” instead of “me vs. you”.

When you argue in front of someone, make sure that you apologize in front of them too. It helps people see that your relationship is not only arguments.

This is especially true if you have children, as they need to see peaceful conflict resolution, and not just the conflict.

Even if you’re married, never stop dating your spouse. Love is active.