The First Year of Marriage: A Survival Guide

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Just got married and looking back at that first year of marriage? While the honeymoon phase of a new marriage is beautiful, it's not all rainbows and butterflies, as you'll surely find out! If you're looking for advice for your first year of marriage, you've come to the right place.

There are a lot of changes that happen in a relationship during the first year of marriage, so advice for newlyweds often involves dealing with this change with your new spouse in a way that is healthy and respectful for all the people involved. Sometimes it feels like major life events should come with a user manual, but when they don't, we've created The First Year of Marriage: A Survival Guide here for you.

There are many difficult transitions in the first year of marriage, but much of it is due to unrealistic expectations. Reading these tips for the first year of marriage will hopefully help you know what to expect as the honeymoon phase passes and you and yours lay the groundwork for a healthy and fulfilling marriage that will last for many years to come!

Table of Contents

Household management in a new marriage

Figuring out how to divide household responsibilities is an important task for newlyweds.

One of the most difficult transitions in a new marriage can be deciding relationship roles and household management tasks. Are you surprised at what your new spouse expects of you at home? Do you rely on them to do certain things that they don't? It is important to sit down and have a conversation about how household chores will be divided so that there is no confusion or resentment about it in the first year of marriage or beyond. beyond.

If you don't already know each other's love language, make sure you understand it ASAP! This can help you both feel more heard and understood in the marriage.

Sex in the first year of marriage

Changing from an unmarried couple to a married couple can lead to changes in libido in both directions! The important thing is to keep communicating with your new spouse about what you're both going through. Differing expectations about sex, especially the frequency of it, is a common stumbling block in the first year of marriage, so make sure you and your spouse have active conversations about expectations and experiences.

Your first year of marriage is the perfect time to create intimacy in your relationship that will serve as a solid foundation for the rest of your married life.

Documents for newlyweds

Yes, the first year of marriage comes with a surprising amount of paperwork! There's a lot of paperwork involved in legally merging two people's lives, so give yourself a little grace during this time of transition. Life insurance, health insurance, tenant/landlord insurance, and emergency contacts are just some of the documents that need to be updated during the first year of marriage, and if the one of you has changed your name, there are still more to update like your social security. card and driver's license.

It's not a glamorous part of a new marriage, but it's real life! You signed up to share everything, not just the fun parts.

Finances in the first year of marriage