Marriage Changes Everything! 10 Things That Might Feel Different After Saying “I Do”

 For some, sharing a last name makes a couple feel invincible. I hyphenated my last name with his, but I’d be lying if there wasn’t some underlying feeling of a team dynamic I feel when I write his name with mine. But it’s not just about a name, it’s about the shift in our thinking that turns the “I’s” into a “we.” Now everything “we” do is for “us” and our family. It’s easy to still maintain some of the “I’s” when you’re just dating. You might still have separate accounts, separate homes, separate friends, and to some degree, separate lives when you’re just dating. Now, my successes or his successes automatically feel like “our” success…because it’s for the greater good of the marriage. If he gets a raise or a promotion, it benefits us both. Same goes for me. Before when we were dating, I felt like I could celebrate his success with him and be happy for him…but it felt like it was still his success. Now, everything…even failures…feel like it belongs to both of us. But no matter what, failure or success, happiness or sadness, joy or pain, neither one of us feels like we’re going through it alone. If he cries, I cry…and vice versa. Of course everything I listed isn’t ONLY possible if you have  ring, a white dress and a marriage certificate – You can be in a happy, fulfilling long-term relationship and experience all of these things without making it down the aisle. It’s just that for me, I didn’t feel or appreciate these changes until after I got married.