When the Wedding is Over: 6 Ways to Enjoy Being Newlyweds
Ah, you’ve reached the point you’ve been waiting for: driving off into the sunset with your sweetheart after a long, family- and friends-filled day of wedding celebrations, and you’re so ready to begin your new life together! After the confetti has settled and the tan lines from your tropical honeymoon have faded, it’s time to focus on just enjoying this new life together.
Being “newlyweds” can be somewhat stressful as you transition to a new way of doing things and learn to communicate and make compromises, but it can also be a beautiful time in your life you reflect back on lovingly. Today I wanted to share six tips for newlywed couples to really enjoy this time and avoid any stress.
1 | Take trips together
A note to all the late summer/fall brides + grooms: come holiday season, right after your wedding, you ARE going to feel tugged in all directions unless you have some super rad family members who understand the pressure you’re under. It’s really exciting for families to have new additions, and around Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s always a big deal where you choose to spend your time.
Everyone will want you to come to visit them as a couple, but be sure to take a few trips just yourselves! It starts with the honeymoon, but having more vacations to look forward to that aren’t filled with family will help you remember that this time in your life is about the two of you, not the fifty of all them.
2 | Develop new habits
Take this chance to be a refresh and start some new productive habits. A few ideas: take up journaling, rising together each morning to spend a few extra minutes at the breakfast table together before you start your day; go on weekly runs together; now that you’re shopping for and preparing all your food together, experiment with a healthier lifestyle by cooking new healthy foods together.
3 | Reinvent traditions
One of the hardest parts of coming together in a marriage or any long-term relationship is letting go of the way you’ve always done things or the way they used to be in compromise to your partner’s way. These discussions should be respectful and frequent until you come to an agreement to avoid miscommunication and hurt feelings.
Especially around the holidays, you’ll quickly learn that the way you were doing things all your life wasn’t the “right” way; it was simply “your” way. Take the opportunity as newlyweds to develop brand new traditions or tweak traditions and fond memories you have to encompass both of your suggestions and start doing them a new way that represents your combined life.
4 | Revel in your alone time
It’s so wonderful that you can be together all the time now that you’re married, but remember that it is a stark contrast to your life before when you had your own agenda and your own priorities. It can be a bit of a rough transition to go from rising whenever you want on the weekend to having responsibilities as a spouse and partner to another person. Remember to block out some time each week where you can be alone or pursue personal passion projects like a hobby you want to develop.
5 | Make new friends
Coming together in a marriage often means a whole new variety of people to hang with — people from both of your separate pasts, family, each of your coworkers, etc. This can be overwhelming for the other spouse to suddenly get inundated with all these new names and faces, so to avoid being kept in that rut, venture out as a couple to make some new couple friends who are new to both of you and embark on those new friendships together!
6 | Set goals together
One of my favorite tips for my brides and grooms is to encourage them to make commitments to one another in the form of sharing a goal. Whether it’s a fitness goal or a financial goal, simply planning and working towards one common thing is a great way to strengthen your relationship and show your respect and admiration for one another. A great place to start would be a savings account, committing to setting aside a portion of your paychecks each month in pursuit of a common dream, like saving to buy a house or a trip to Italy.
These are some of my favorite ways to remind my couples to enjoy their new lives together after the hustle and bustle of the wedding and honeymoon are over! What would you add to the list?