K: Oh how the time has flown by! Today marks our one year anniversary and of course, we couldn’t let the day pass without recognizing it on the blog. As Brandon and I reflect on our first year of marriage, we can’t help but think of the immense blessings that God has given us. We are so incredibly grateful to have each other and a marriage that we treasure. In honor of today, we’re each sharing a few things that we’ve learned this past year, as husband and wife.
What We’ve Learned in our First Year of Marriage
K: Building a home and a life together is vital
It has been so much fun to build our home together over the past year. After we got married, Brandon and I moved into our new home. Even though we still have plenty of bare space, we’ve slowly but surely started to furnish and decorate our home. Taking time to “nest” and create a home together not only forges a bond, but creates meaning and love in the place that we spend the majority of our time together. Building upon that, creating routine, tradition, and memories is just as important. We love our little life together and what we’ve established over the past year.
B: We’re still learning about each other
No matter how long you’ve been dating or engaged, once you get married you’ll still be learning new things about the other person. For us, even though we have been married for one year, we are still learning things daily. We try to have stimulating conversation on a regular basis, always asking “would you rather” and “what if”, allowing us to get inside the other person’s mind and learn new things.
K: Dates are important!
As you can probably tell from this blog, dates are so important to us (like in this post here and here)! In fact, one of the reasons behind creating the blog is to inspire others with date ideas and encourage the “date your spouse” movement. Brandon and I consistently make time for each other, having at least one date per week. Because of this, I truly believe that allows us to grow together and maintain a healthy relationship.
B: There is no ball and chain
A stereotypical comment that every guy hears when he is engaged is to watch out for the old “ball and chain”. I have not found this statement to be true and do not feel restricted by my wife in any way. We each try our best to build the other person up, focusing more on a partnership. We are never here to bring each other down. In my opinion, marriage should not and does not feel like being in a jail cell.
K: You can quickly find your “new normal”
Neither Brandon or myself had ever lived with anyone prior to being married so we were not exactly sure what living with the opposite gender would look like. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m such a girly-girl and was unknowing about mens habits and even some of Brandon’s quirks. We quickly figured out what our new “normal” looked like, establishing routines that worked for us, figuring out how to keep our house tidy for the other person, and learning to live with a few hilarious quirks that each of us have. What was once normal in our old lives now seems foreign as we truly cherish each day together.
B: Invest in quality time
In observing other couples over the years, I have noticed that the ones appearing to be the closest or in the healthiest relationship are the ones who regularly spend time together, travel, and continue to “date”. Through marriage, it is important to continue to pursue your spouse, just as if you were dating. This seems to carry weight and merit for the life long concept of marriage and definitely helps to make your significant other feel loved and appreciated, as Katherine and I have both noticed.
K: Put the Lord in charge
Our most important factor is to leave the Lord in charge. He is at the center of our relationship and our lives. Without our trust and faith in him, we would be completely lost and without purpose. I don’t know what your relationship or marriage looks like, but if there’s one piece of advice we can give, it is to follow the Lord together.
B: At the end of the day, love exceeds everything
Even through times of stress or frustration, Katherine and I both know that at the end of the day, we are never mad at each other. We are always there for each other. One of our closest friends told us that marriage is 99% easy and fun, while there is 1% that is difficult. It is important to keep the perspective that such a small percent is absolutely worth working through because there are magnitudes of greatness that stem from a marriage.
B: If you want to see a little bit from our wedding, we’ve got our very first blog post right here, showcasing everything. Additionally, you’ll find our wedding video here and a feature in San Antonio Wedding Magazine here. Needless to say, it was the start of our lives together and one of the most memorable days we’ll ever have. We want to thank you all for following along in our journey!
K: As Brandon already mentioned, our wedding was such a special day. We were fortunate enough to work with some of the sweetest and best vendors out there. In fact, the dress that I’m wearing in these photos is actually a dress from the boutique where I purchased my wedding dress. Bella Bride Boutique is located in San Antonio if any of you are local and looking for a great gown! They have designer labels like Hayley Paige and Martina Liana. All of our vendors are listed on the feature page of San Antonio Wedding Magazine for all of you brides out there on the hunt!
Finally, we want to thank you again for following along. We started this blog as a way to chronicle our first year of marriage and we certainly have documented a lot! It’s been so exciting and fun to keep track of the memorable events that occurred in 2017. Thank you for taking time to read about our lives and we are excited to continue to share!
On Katherine: Bella Bride Boutique gown c/o
On Brandon: Hugo Boss Suit
SaveSave