11 Lessons I Learned in the First Year of Marriage

Photo: Krista A. Jones Photography

It feels like just yesterday that I was a bride-to-be, waiting to walk down the aisle.

Now, I have been hitched for 365+ days—a major milestone! Here are 11 lessons I’ve learned so far:

I’m still going through wedding withdrawal
You'd think I'd have moved on by now. However, I find myself still experiencing post-big day blues. I definitely adopted some of these helpful practices in an attempt to handle it, especially journaling some of my "LOL" moments of the day. I will never forget when my grandma shouted, “Whee!” as wish lanterns were sent into the sky during the send-off.

We catch each other looking at our wedding photos
It’s true that my husband, Brian, catches me looking at our wedding photos on a weekly, scratch that, daily basis. I’ll find myself spotting a moment that I missed, and share it with him so we can reminisce together.

We receive gifts randomly
We received a gift from a guest 10 months after the wedding. While I hadn't realized that we hadn't received a gift from them, it felt like Christmas all over again!

My hand hated writing 100+ thank-you cards
As much as it was a painful process, family and friends appreciated the fact that I took the time to send them snail mail. Tip: Follow our easy templates to get rid of writer’s block.

The honeymoon does continue after the honeymoon (despite the rumors)
We have managed to stay in the "honeymoon phase" despite the fact that our honeymoon is long over. For example, I give my husband a goodbye kiss each morning and add a pick-me-up phrase like, “You look handsome today, honey,” or he’ll send (let’s give him some brownie points too!) an email with the subject line that says, “I love you!” in all caps.

...But you might get a case of baby fever here and there
We have gotten a case of baby fever because my sister - and brother-in-law welcomed a beautiful baby girl in March. We have traveled up to Boston to meet Julia, and it’s so surreal to watch my spouse interact with such a small individual. Fortunately, since the focus is on our new niece, the pressure is off of us—for now!

We continue to fight about decor
I’m not referring to wedding decor, I’m talking home decor. As many arguments as we had over why the cocktail napkins needed to match the striped paper straws (he didn’t get that navy blue is NOT the same as cobalt), that ship has sailed. We recently moved into another apartment with ample space for all our stuff. Currently, we fight over which furniture should go in the office. Brian doesn’t think it’s worth spending money on a Louis chair, but it reminds me of the matching ones we sat in at our head table! Valid reason, right?

I love my new last name
I used to always hate being the last in the alphabet with a “Z” last name, but I love that I’ve moved to the middle.

You won’t use everything off your registry
I enjoyed picking out everything from glassware, dinnerware, flatware, and more for our kitchen, but I’m a long ways away from hosting Thanksgiving. I may or may not have boxes of registry items still in storage.

Holidays will be a huge adjustment
We decided to split the holidays. Last year, we were with Brian's parents, and this year, we will be with my parents. When I realized I wasn't going to spend it with my clan for the first time as newlyweds, I wasn't a happy camper. It put me in such a flat-out, non-festive mood. Despite it being a dreaded huge adjustment, it will become the new normal. His traditions are now my traditions too.

We have one more thing to celebrate
Ahem, our anniversary!