Transitions in Marriage

Transitions in marriage are things that must necessarily happen as family members are added and roles change. These transitions may include preparation for the wedding, initial marriage, introduction of children, the addition of more children and possibly sometimes unfortunate circumstances.

Planning and the carrying out of a wedding in the United states today tend to be elaborate affairs. While both the bride and the groom may have responsibilities in planning the wedding, the bride is likely to bear the brunt of the work, this may cause unneeded stress. Professional wedding planners may even be involved in some cases where they is a need for excessive planning. Couples have to learn in this transition to be comfortable with the planning and the expenses of a wedding, as tension may arise between bride and groom or even each party and their parents about planning, ideas choices and of course the expenses.

Adjusting to marriage/ marriage life is to enter a new social world. It is said that even those who cohabited for some years, when they get married there are still adjustments to their relationships. A newly married couple now have to adjust to living, expectation, responsibilities and options/choices, new social world such as the spouses friends and in-laws. Adjustments in some marriages may start off as difficult and seen as a disadvantage. Many newly married couples are attending university, working, and in many cases doing both of those at the same time. This can make things very difficult for the newlyweds adjustment from single to married life. Free time cannot be spent as in the past. Newlyweds must learn to adjust to this lifestyle in order for the relationship to thrive.

The first year of marriage is often referred to as the hardest year of the marriage. This can be caused by a number of factors. The main factor is that the honeymoon phase wears off. The euphoric and often fairy tale excitement of being a newlywed begins to die as the couple settles into the routines of daily life and the excitement of being with your spouse for a majority of your time begins to become normal. A couple must recognize this change and be willing to put in the effort to continue doing those actions that caused the romance and excitement in the beginning of the marriage while also getting adjusted to the reality of their marriage. Doing activities together and keeping the vibrance of the honeymoon are great ways to stay close and romantic as a couple.

Commitment is central to marriage and the level of commitment to each other will determine how happy and successful the marriage is. When young people are beginning to explore the idea of marriage, commitment is the main factor which influences them from seriously pursuing marriage or not. Some people are ready for this serious commitment younger and some take longer to settle into the idea of being committed. During the first year of marriage couples begin to understand what the true meaning of commitment means within their marriage and begin to see and feel the pressures that come from such a committed relationship. Sometimes a couple will realize they underestimated the level of commitment it takes to have a happy marriage and will begin to harbour negative feelings within the first year of their marriage. They may begin to feel as if there partner has changed or does not feel for them how they used to. While in some cases this can be true but In many cases the adjustment to commitment is difficult for them as reality meets expectations.

In most cases when couples make it past the commitment stage of the first year is when children being to come into the picture, hence another transition for the couple to learn to work around. Being a parent is not an easy task, having to manage work, children, household and financial duties are a great mass to deal with.

Then there is the unfortunate circumstances such as loss’, of either life, money, homes, and even love for each other. This can tear a family apart if the strength of overtime working through all other transitions are there.