Advice to give to a bride-to-be

[elizabethkott]

A friend's bachelorette party is Saturday, and each of us were given a scrapbook page to do "whatever we want" with. I got some pretty scrapbooking decoration stuff, but I need some help with what to actually put on the dang page!
Any advice/ideas/wisdom/quotes?
Thanks!

[kedss]

There is a great site for quotes:
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/

[SnuggleBuggles]

Mine would be to ignore that "don't go to bed angry" one that people always spout at you. Sometimes going to bed angry is a good thing if you are getting into the territory of not productively arguing and possibly saying hurtful things. A cooling down period can sometimes be a good thing.

Beth

[Melaine]

Actually, that the verse I was going to quote, Ephesians 4:26-27: ""Be angry, and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."
It's about keeping short accounts with your spouse and choosing to forgive one another in order to strengthen the relationship and prevent further conflict. The verse isn't saying that you shouldn't cool down, it's just saying that you should purpose to address an issue rather than pushing it "under the rug" so to speak.

[gatorsmom]

Marriage is all about compromise. You can't have everything YOUR way all the time. That goes for both sides.

[shawnandangel]

I would make a 1950's man and a 1950s woman and have them both on the phone smiling at each other with a speech bubble coming from one of them saying "keep the lines of communication open"

[ThreeofUs]

what about e.e.cummings?

be of love (a little) More careful Than of everything

Here's the rest of the poem:

guard her perhaps only A trifle less (merely beyond how very) closely than Nothing,
remember love by frequent anguish(imagine Her least never with most memory)
give entirely each Forever its freedom (Dare until a flower, understanding sizelessly sunlight Open what thousandth why and discover laughing)
- e. e. cummings ~ (Collected Poems 1962-1964)

[ellies mom]

I love this quote by J. Allen Petersen:


"Most people get married believing a myth - that marriage is a beautiful box full of all the things they have longed for: companionship, sexual fufillment, intimacy, friendship. The truth is that marriage at the start is an empty box. You must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage. Love is in people and people put it in marriage. There is no romance in marriage; people have to infuse it into their marriages.

A couple must learn the art and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, praising - keeping the box full. If you take out more than you put in the box will empty."

As for advice, marriage is hard and our society/media has built up this fairytale image of how happy everything is supposed to be especially at the beginning. It isn't always happy and it doesn't mean a marriage is doomed if it isn't happy or easy all of the time. Most marriages struggle at some time or another. Most the things that will drive her nuts about her husband are not "the specific guy she married" things but "guy in general" things. Knowing those things has been a great help for me.

[maestramommy]

I love this quote by J. Allen Petersen:



As for advice, marriage is hard and our society/media has built up this fairytale image of how happy everything is supposed to be especially at the beginning. It isn't always happy and it doesn't mean a marriage is doomed if it isn't happy or easy all of the time. Most marriages struggle at some time or another. Most the things that will drive her nuts about her husband are not "the specific guy she married" things but "guy in general" things. Knowing those things has been a great help for me.


Couldn't get your quote to come out, but that is GREAT!

One thing I've learned in my own marriage. Normally DH and I get along great, work together great, etc etc. When things start getting stressful and tense, it helps me remember that Dh is not my adversary, that he isn't a mind reader, and he does a lot more than I think when I'm in a "why am I always the one....." rut.

[cvanbrunt]

I know it is unromantic but, "pick your battles". Some issues just aren't worth arguing over. Save your energy for the really important discussions and disagreements that will come up.

[KrisM]

My advice is to not take on too much at the beginning - housework, laundry, etc or you'll never get rid of it as your job! And, if your DH does do something that you typically do, don't be critical or make him do it your way - just be happy he's doing it.

[DietCokeLover]

Marriage is not 50%/ 50%. It is 100% from both people.

[StantonHyde]

"You can be right or you can be married"

Ask for what you want--I actually circle gifts in catalogs and give the pages to DH in advance of Christmas, anniversary, etc.

[Tammy]

I'm not super creative with words, but I'd put something in there about keeping your sense of humor and laughing as much as you can.