Happily Ever Afters

What To Expect…..The First Year Of Marriage

Have you read the gazillions of fairy-tale romance books all professing to hold the secrets to a happy marriage?  Yep, so have I.  Yet only those of us who have been on this merry-go-round at least once know the reality of newlywed life in all its imperfect perfection.  Stop the presses…..we’ve actually found a book that comes as close at possible to the truth: Wedding Cake for Breakfast: Essays on the Unforgettable First Year of Marriage is filled with real couples’ accounts of their first year of marriage–and they’re far from the romantic, gift-opening, sex-filled days we imagine as we prepare to walk down the aisle. But the very real and raw challenges and experiences chronicled in this collection of essays are what build the foundation for a lifetime of happiness.

A great read to put the whole wedding planning hoopla into perspective, Wedding Cake for Breakfast is filled with inspiring reminders of what the walk down the aisle is really about. Here are a few words of wisdom from one of my favorite essays by Sally Koslow:

Think beyond the wedding to the life you want to build together. No one will remember if the groom wore a dark suit or a tuxedo. 

Don’t measure yourself against the next couple. Be skeptical of others’ perfection. 

Do everything you can to make sure your wives love your parents. 

Keep laughing. 

*Excerpted from Wedding Cake for Breakfast edited by Kim Perel and Wendy Sherman