Show & Tell Monday... {Wedding Bells Ringing}

Linking up with Becky for Show & Tell Monday!! Grab the Q's & Link and join along!

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Are you married? If so when did you get married, and tell us about your special day. If not? How would you describe your dream wedding?
Yes, I am married! Hubs and I have been married for 5 years! We are actually planning our "Vow Renewal!" So excited about that!!

Show us some wedding pictures. Either yours or of some that you love.
Here are a few from our wedding. It was a small intimate wedding since I was 35 weeks pregnant..

How about the engagement? Tell us your story. If not engaged, what's your dream proposal?
I am sad to say that Hubs didn't do anything special for the "Popping of the Question.." He thought since we both went and checked out rings and I picked out the one I wanted, He didn't do anything fun.. He picked me up from work and said "Here ya go!" At the time, I was pregnant and we knew we wanted to get engaged/married. 

I wanted that dream proposal that you only see in movies or hear about how creative friends husbands got.. I feel like I got jipped out of the whole thing..

Show us your wedding rings or an engagement photo! If not engaged/married ... show us your "dream" ring.
When we were looking at rings, we were on a budget and I got a 1/2 carat princess cut diamond ring. Here are a few that I absolutely love and wouldn't mind having on my finger....

Tell us why you think marriage doesn't work out for so many? What can we do to make things last..
Communication and Compromising are key to marriage.. I often lack in this area, which makes me really sad.. I had been hurt so many times in the past, even after 5 years of marriage, I still have a hard time letting that wall down. 

1. - Couples fail to anticipate differences resulting from diverse cultural backgrounds, differing family experiences, gender, and so on.
2. - Couples buy into the notion of a “fifty-fifty” relationship, meaning they honestly expect their spouses to meet them halfway.
3. - Society has taught us that mankind is basically good. Therefore, couples fail to anticipate their self-centered natures that demand their own way.
4. - Couples fail to cope with life’s trials. When painful trials come into the marriage, instead of standing together through them, couples tend to blame each other or think something is wrong with the spouse and the way they handle the pain.
5. - Many people have a fantasy view of love. They quickly feel stuck with an unloving person and become deceived into believing that the next one will be better.

And how to make them last:

- Keep the lines of communication open. If you don’t know how to express your feelings and/or have poor listening skills, learn to get better at both. You can read a book, take a class, or get into counseling. Good communication requires both the ability to express and listen.

- Don’t sweep your fights under the rug and think they’ll magically resolve themselves. Do your best to resolve your first argument as soon as it arises so you won’t have the same argument for the next fifty years, in different forms.

- Remember that you love your spouse; therefore, you want the best for her/him. Give her/him the benefit of the doubt when you feel angry, hurt or disappointed. Talk to your partner; don’t make assumptions.

- Don't take your spouse for granted. Tell your partner every day something you appreciate about her/him and how grateful you are to have them in your life.

- Your spouse should never feel like your enemy. If they do, something is wrong; remember that you fell in love with this person. If there’s so much anger that you feel like you are enemies, get help somewhere as quickly as possible.

- Gauge your marriage. Notice and don’t ignore the warning signs if you’re not talking, sex has diminished, you’re fighting all the time and you’re not happy. The sooner you acknowledge you’re having problems, the sooner you can begin to solve them.

- Always remember that you have the power to change behaviors in your marriage through different tools of self-discovery. You don’t have to stay stuck in unhealthy ruts.


*All images from Pinterest