Today we are wonderfully fortunate to have Marie McKinney-Oates, a pre-marital counselor who owns Nashville Marriage Studio, as a guest blogger! I seriously love reading Marie’s blog as she’s absolutely hilarious, she even uses illustrations to make her points which I feel deserves bonus points for creativity so you must check it out when you have a moment! Marie also always has fantastic advice for couples preparing for marriage and here she gives us her thoughts on how to manage your time, both in planning the wedding, and in planning your life together.
Healthy Marriages Take Time – From Marie McKinney-Oates
Time management is one of those subtly important parts of a wedding. You’ll never hear a guest compliment a wedding for transitioning so smoothly from the first dance to the cake cutting, but if your guests have to wait forever in the cocktail area while the newlyweds get photos taken you better believe you’re going to hear about it.
And that’s where wedding coordinators, like the Simply Stunning team, come to your wedding’s rescue. I mean, how could you not trust someone who makes this many lists and manages her own time this well with your Big Day? I’ve not personally used Simply Stunning, but there’s no doubt that these ladies have mad time management skillz.
Just like your wedding day can be ruined with poor time management, so can your marriage. You would think that spending a lifetime together would also mean having all the time in the world for one another. Not true. Being around your honey ALL THE TIME means that you have to be extra diligent that your time together is well spent. Just being in the same room doesn’t count. Don’t get conned into thinking simply sitting next to each other during Say Yes to the Dress marathons cuts it for quality time.
When you hire Simply Stunning to assist you for your wedding they’re going to create a timeline of the day. The timeline is a guide to let you know how long you can spend taking photos with your family and when you’ll be cutting the cake. This guide is flexible and its primary purpose is to make sure you get everything you want out of the day.
I have no clue how to make a wedding day timeline. You’ll have to talk to Kristin about that. However, I can give you an idea of how to watch the clock when it comes your marriage:
Daily – Spend at least 15 minutes per day with one another. That sounds easy, right? Again, not talking about being in the same room. Spend 15 minutes in the morning talking about your upcoming day or 15 minutes in bed before you fall asleep talking about how it all went down. The point is that making a daily attempt at truly touching base will help you feel closer and more connected.
Weekly – Spend one evening a week just the two of you (so important when babies enter the picture so get in the habit now). This doesn’t have to be intense conversation or anything, but it is important to get away from the daily grind and focus on each other.
Monthly – Spend one weekend a month going on an adventure or accomplishing something together. This could be anything from a quick camping trip to a weekend dedicated to getting that garden started.
Yearly – Spend a week once a year really relaxing and getting away. These yearly connections are a great time to evaluate the past and dream about the future. Finding a way to recharge can be a great way to start the next year of marriage with excitement.
Regardless of if you are able to work this marriage timeline into your life, make sure that time with your sweetie continues to be a priority even after you say “I do”.
Thanks so much Marie!
Bio: Marie McKinney Oates is a pre-marital counselor in Nashville who wants to help as many marriages succeed as possible. She blogs,Twitters and Facebooks like a pro.
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Nashville Wedding Planning
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