Today Kevin and Laura celebrate 18 years of marriage, and look forward to the rest of forever…!
Some of the Best Things about Marriage
- Having a best friend
- Learning how to think about and care for someone other than yourself
- Having adorable children (my daughter told me to add the “adorable!”)
- Having someone who motivates and requires that you become your best self
- Being able to enjoy God’s gift of sexual intimacy
- Having someone who always has your back
- Having someone to love who loves you back
- Knowing that marriage and family can last forever…!
Anniversary Traditions
- Have a nice dinner date and spend the night away at a hotel
- Get our wedding rings cleaned
- Watch our wedding video
- Look through wedding pictures with our kids
- Update our “Love Language” lists of what makes each of us feel loved
- Do wedding sealings
We’d love to hear how many years you have been married, and what the best things about marriage are for you. Share your favorite wedding anniversary traditions, as well. We can all learn from each other.
About the Author: Laura M. Brotherson
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Certified Sex Therapist, Laura M. Brotherson is the founder of "The Marital Intimacy Institute"" with a mission to help couples create "sextraordinary" marriages. She counsels with couples and individuals in private practice (and online) and is passionate about helping couples navigate the intricacies of intimacy--specializing in healthy sexuality, sex therapy, and sex addiction. She is the author of the best-selling book And They Were Not Ashamed — Strengthening Marriage through Sexual Fulfillment, Knowing HER Intimately: 12 Keys for Creating a Sextraordinary Marriage, and her latest book --From Honeymoon to Happily Ever After: 23 Keys to Prepare for a Sextraordinary Marriage, with nearly 100,000 copies sold. She also has a fabulous online course for women to help them develop their "Sexual Wholeness."
As a Certified Family Life Educator, Laura is also actively engaged in helping to build strong marriages and families by providing marriage education through Couples Cruises, articles, newsletters, radio and television broadcasts, "The Marital Intimacy Show" podcasts, and presenting at conferences and workshops. Laura is a regular contributor to the KSL Television "Studio 5" morning show.
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What is a wedding sealing?
Hi Amanda,
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that marriages and families are not just “’til death do us part” but for forever–this life and the next. You may have seen an LDS/Mormon temple where marriage sealings are performed. This is where my husband and I were not just married but were sealed for time and all eternity.
Those who did not have the chance to be “sealed” during their lifetime still have the opportunity to accept such covenants if people on earth do that ordinance work for them. (This is also why Mormons are so big on genealogy and family history work.)
So on our anniversary (or around it) we go back to one of the temples (House of the Lord) and do sealings for others just like we did for ourselves when we were first married.
I hope that answers your question. You could learn more about it at http://www.LDS.org under Gospel Library | Gospel Topics | Marriage | Additional Information.
Congratulations! July 19th is our anniversary too! 13 years for us! 🙂 Where did you get married? It looks a lot like the Seattle Temple, which is where we were married.
We too love to do sealings. We also talk about where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we are going as a couple and a family. It’s a great time to update our family vision of what/where we want to be in 20 years.
I really like the idea of making a tradition of spending the night alone together each each. What a fun tradition.
Congrats on 18 years together…I hope the next 18 years is equally rewarding. ;}