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Name and occupation: Sara, Hair Stylist
Partner’s name and occupation: Nick, Web Developer
Our wedding profile: Sara & Nick’s majestic movies wedding, April 9, 2011.
Since the wedding, we have purchased a house and adopted a couple of cats. My son is going into second grade. I’m currently pursuing Redken color certification and a cosmetology instructor’s license. Nick left the university he used to work for and is currently working for a marketing firm. We are going into our third year as Old Marrieds, but we’ve been together for seven years total.
Looking back all these years later, what do you remember most about your wedding?
It was so amazing to have (almost) all the people we love together for one day. Every year we say we wish we could do it again! I am especially glad that both of my grandmothers and my grandfather were able to attend. This past year, my Nana had a stroke and my Grandpa passed away. There isn’t a photo of it, sadly, but my grandparents slow danced to “The Way You Look Tonight” and it was very sweet. If we can stay as crazy about each other as they were after 55 years of marriage, we’ll be just fine!
Did you re-purpose any wedding decor or attire?
We’ve re-used some of those popcorn boxes numerous times! I took most of the twinkle lights out of the centerpieces and used them to light my little vintage Christmas village. The flowers were donated. We gave most of the photo booth props to my son to play dress-up with, except for a few which we used for Halloween. I’ve re-worn the pink crinoline and my shoes a few times since the wedding.
What big challenges have you faced? What have you learned from them?
Even though my husband has been around since my son was nine months old, I don’t think he fully realized how expensive kids can be. That was a bit of an adjustment for him. For my part, I had to remind myself that this guy went from living all alone, doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, to having a little kid around and having to make sure he was taken care of before we make plans with friends, or take time off work, etc.
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We also realized quickly that, while a two-bedroom townhome seemed like enough room for three people, the walls were slowly closing in on us. It’s so easy to go from a normal amount of things to a stuffsplosion of clutter before you even know what’s happened. I am a keeper (some might say hoarder, but whatever!) and my husband is definitely not, so we had to get used to that as well.
All in all, there weren’t any major surprises. We just live our lives and try not to be assholes to anyone, particularly each other. It’s working out really well so far!
How do you keep your romance alive?
We make it a point to go out together, alone, at least one night a week. Usually Friday or Saturday. Usually dinner and/or a movie followed by a few drinks at our favorite bar. We actually don’t see a lot of each other lately. He has a regular Monday through Friday, 8-5 gig, and I work nights & weekends. It can be hectic. Some weeks we do give in to the temptation to just sit on the couch and watch tv in our pajamas. Being so busy, though, makes us really appreciate the time we do get to spend together.
What advice do you have for newlyweds?
As far as chores are concerned, I would definitely recommend having a plan and sticking to it. I’m off Mondays and Tuesdays, which were the days I did laundry before we were married. Nick likes it to be done by the end of the day Sunday, so laundry is actually one of the things he does. We figured out early on who would do what on which day.
Hopefully arguments are rare, but when they do happen, just talk it out! My instinct used to always be flight whenever things were unpleasant. But if you leave (or shut yourself in a room, or go for a walk, or put on headphones, etc.) instead of just finishing the damn fight, you’re just prolonging everyone’s misery. Talk to each other respectfully, but honestly, and don’t bottle things up.
I think i am going to use that “you’re just prolonging everyone’s misery” line on my 20 year old stepson who recently moved in with us ‘temporarily.’ Whenever we disagree with him, he does this and we keep trying to explain to him that he needs to learn to communicate. Maybe pointing it out your way will help! (can’t hurt to try, right?) 🙂
PS – you guys are super cute.
I was just thinking that someone should have told me this during my pissy pre-teen/early teenage years.
People should have told me, and they did. Too bad there was no way teenager me would listen to anyone but myself.
Aww, thanks! I was definitely guilty of that when I was 20, too. It took me till around 26ish to learn to argue like a grown-up. And sometimes I have to remind myself of my own advice! Good luck!
“But if you leave (or shut yourself in a room, or go for a walk, or put on headphones, etc.) instead of just finishing the damn fight, you’re just prolonging everyone’s misery.”
Amen to that!
Also, I love the kitty tie 🙂
Thanks! That’s the Great Catsby. He DOES NOT love the kitty tie, but we love making him look like Business Cat.
Your Clue party picture is amazeballs. The Tim Curry head is hilarious! That’s one of my favorite movies :D.
Same! That was taken on Halloween, but there has been much discussion about an actual Clue dinner party with assigned roles, etc. We didn’t realize that we didn’t have a butler to buttle until earlier that day, so Nick made the Tim Curry-on-a-stick. We still have him somewhere!