[bhattathiri]

• Plan meals together so that you both eat healthy foods.
• Throughout your day, make sure to drink water.
• Make time in your schedule for exercising together.
• Have fun and laugh more with each other.
• Arrange a date night or some way to spend some time alone together on a regular basis.
• Support one another.
• Create a good sleeping environment so that you both get enough sleep.
• Frequent arguing, lack of intimacy, difficulty in solving problems, financial concerns, child raising issues, illness, and living in a tense environment can all increase marital stress.
• 
  Compromise is usually not an option if the two of you disagree on these issues that can be deal breakers.
  1. Do you want to have children?
  It is a huge red flag in your relationship if you and your future spouse can not agree on whether to have children or not.
  Thinking that you can deal with this issue later in your marriage is a mistake. Making a decision to have a baby when one parent doesn't want to have children is not fair to the child or to your marriage.
• One of the myths about marriage is that marriage can make you happy. Not true. Your happiness both as an individual and as a married partner must come from within yourself. Being married can add to your happiness, but it is not and can not be the primary source of your happiness. Here are strategies to help you create a happier you and a happy marriage.
• Make sure that you compliment your spouse at least once every day. Look for things you can comment on that you haven't mentioned before.
  When you give sincere encouragement and compliments to your spouse, several things are accomplished.
• Your spouse's self-confidence is increased.
• Your own self-worth is increased.
• The friendship between the two of you is strengthened.

[kelliz]

wow!! you have given nice tips for successful marriage.
guys do not forget that what is important is LOVE; givev the person all your love and your wedding will automatically be a success. next time i'll post the photo of my family; me and my husband, we are very happy altogether. when i get my confirmation from image hosting i'll uploa dthe pictures. i'd like to see your families too. send me your pictures. you can use image hosting as i do. i want others to see how beautiful it when the whole family is in perfect accordance with the other. give others some motivation.

[psugal]

Also remember that your spouse is not a mind reader so don't expect him/her to be!

[QueenAngie]

Welcome to the board!

Work daily on your relationship and your marriage,
so that both of you are happy.

[sweetymeellen]

i've tried many things but he will still do on his own way.. i think i don't have successful marriage.. my husband only cares his money and not me..

[Alejandros Mommy]

One thing I have found is that marriage is compromising.....one person cannot be right all the time. Seek common ground with your spouse and respect and listen to them....then they will respect and listen to you.

[Samual]

Another one is don't try to change your partner! My sister went through a period of noth understanding why her partner wasn't doing things how she wanted them done. Some people have the idea that all those annoying habits will disappear when you get married, wrong. If you have to think about treating your partner well, you have alot of work to do.

[songbirdxx]

Another little thought worth considering although not concerning my own relationship.Never underestimate how much affection a man needs, even if he doesn't show it. A friend complained her husband never seemed to show her spontaneous affection,such as an unexpected kiss, or hug etc, when she wasn't expecting it.I asked her if she ever did this with him.Her answer was , 'no I always feel he should do that'! ....I couldn't believe it!..... Moral to the story. Never assume as a wife, you are the only one who needs to be made to feel special, romanced and hugged.Husbands need it too!

[oweirdo]

MY favorite piece of advice.
Always leave him with a kiss and an I love you and always greet him with a kiss and an I love you. Works well with kids too!

[wordsarefun]

I have been married for 29 years and realize, looking back, that being a single parent in my marriage was one of the hardest things I had to come to grips with. I always thought my husband and I would parent our child together. But the day to day reality was very different than what I imagined it would be. It took a lot of patience, perseverance, faith, stubbornness and love for my marriage to survive. There were a lot of bridges crossed, a child in crises a lot of the time for lack of her father and me, an angry wife. We made it through. There were lessons learned, lots of lonely times, happy memories and laughter. Being a married single mother took it's toll and was not easy to talk about. No one wanted to hear how hard it was to raise a child alone within a marriage. The outside world thought everything was so wonderful. I had a husband, financial security and a job to top it off. But my daughter did not have her father being a parent to her. She did not have the benefit of his approval or of him showing her affection. I was mother and father. He traveled a great deal and therefore out of the home a lot. A successful marriage is a lot of things. For me it is the ability for children to have two parents, if there are two, in the household parenting them. A bird needs two wings to fly and a child needs both parents, if available, to grow strong and confident.