No one in their right mind would say that marriage is easy; planning a wedding, finding your groove as a couple, and maintaining your connection as time goes on all prove challenging. All relationships have their struggles and their ups and downs, and no time made that more evident than Covid-19. Some reported that their marriages and family bonds became stronger as we leaned on each other for support, while others experienced major strain due to the struggles of working from home and spending so much more time together.
Planning A Wedding During The Pandemic
Planning a wedding in itself is stressful, from getting the right band, food, and figuring out where your more difficult family members will sit. Marriage rates around the world dropped significantly, but since the first wave of vaccines came out some are trying to finally get married. But with the new strains of the Covid Virus mutating rapidly, planning a wedding in 2021 is becoming costly and fraught with anxiety. Even those who have the financial means to put in place testing sites for their guests are still having to sell out extra cash for an already costly wedding. For the ones who have fewer means, micro weddings have become the wave of the future.
Stay-At-Home Marriages
If you were already married at the beginning of the pandemic, you may have faced a roller coaster of emotions during the stay-at-home mandates. At the start of the pandemic, increased fear of the future and the outside world caused many to rely heavily on their partners, which can be both beneficial and detrimental. We saw marriages become stronger as their partners became their entire world. Partners enjoyed getting extra one-on-one time and a chance to slow down with the person they love.
However, after months passed and we saw no real change, relationships tended to become strained. This isn’t because people suddenly stopped appreciating or loving their partner but rather because when we don’t see other people in our lives, our view of ourselves can change. We need to be seen in different lights by different people to maintain self-confidence. This is why it’s so important to have trusted friends and co-workers who can help you rediscover the other parts of yourself that your partner may not see.
The Solution
What’s important to make a marriage work is finding and remembering the reasons you work as a couple. Scheduling date nights and time to spend with one another is key so that we can feel that our emotional needs are being met. Doing this helps fight against spending endless amounts of time together but never really connecting.
Finding a life coach or relationship expert can guide us in the work we do on ourselves as individuals, as well as learning what work we need to do together. Discovering and defining your needs within the relationship can ease the strains that covid has put on us and allow us to enjoy our partnerships.
