Category Relationships

ВЂњOh, really? I'm having my dress made .” It wasn't an innocent comment. I was in the middle of two of my engaged friends having one of their many tense conversations about weddings. After getting engaged a month apart, there have been a lot of these awkward moments. From choosing wedding dates (one of them waited so she could pick a date a month before the other and be the first in our group to get married) to dresses (their budgets differ enormously) it's been a series of one-upmanship and thinly-veiled competition.

If you think there's no sign short of a diamond ring that can point to whether you're headed for marriage or not, think again. Experts weigh in and give you the eight ways you can tell if your relationship will last a lifetime. 1. Your partner isn't afraid to challenge you Constantly butting heads could mean you're headed for a breakup.

It's true that married sex can be the best sex. "Marriage is a bright new beginning that often heralds a deeper dimension of a couple's sexual relationship," says Madeleine Castellanos, M.D, sex therapist and author of Wanting to Want: What Kills Your Sex Life and How to Keep It Alive . "But it would be a mistake to think that the beginning of this relationship encompassed the totality of each person's sexual expression.

After a long dry spell, sex can feel a bit painful and uncomfortable the first time back in the saddle. You might think this is because your vagina is tighter from not having sex, but this is simply not the case. Though multiple vaginal births can lead to some temporary stretching of the vaginal canal, no amount of sexual penetration is going to make you looser, says Mary Jane Minkin, M.

How many times has someone declared to a friend over bottomless mimosas, "I have the perfect person for you!" Only, said pal never actually meets up with Logan from payroll-or she does, and finds her well-meaning cupid was really reaching when she guessed he was five foot nine. Well, for Emily Holmes Hahn, founder of elite matchmaking service LastFirst, this proclamation isn't idle brunch chatter; it's an actual business proposal.

The holiday season is always busy-you find your schedule chock full of family and social events, work happenings, shopping, cooking, and more. For couples who are newly married, there's an added layer of excitement, but also one of obligation. Instead of navigating such a busy time solo, you now have to think, act, and RSVP for two.

This may sound unusual, but scheduling sex is truly the best way to keep the sex alive in a long-term relationship. I know, I know. Everyone essentially says the opposite and those who agree appear to have the most boring sex lives known to (wo)man. We see so much pressure being put on “spontaneity” and “doing it when you feel like it,” etc.

Mike and I got married in a hurry-as much of a hurry as a couple who have been together for six years can. In June, we decided that we were going to do it in September with a small ceremony at my parents' house. We picked out flowers, called a rabbi, and crammed 30 people onto folding chairs in the dining room.

Valentine's Day is coming, and if you're recently engaged or a newlywed, that makes the holiday even more exciting! But it can also be stressful figuring out how to properly appreciate Cupid's big day without dipping into your wedding budget or spending a lot of money you don't have after paying off credit cards from your big day.

The question isn't whether you want to know your soon-to-be spouse's number-and you know we're not just talking about an arbitrary phone number. After all, according to Andrea Syrtash, a relationship expert and author of Cheat on Your Husband (With Your Husband) , "It's normal to want to know about your partner's romantic and sexual past.

If you expect to have the hottest sex of your life on your honeymoon, join the club. "Couples often have high expectations for sex on their honeymoon," says Madeleine Castellanos, M.D., sex expert and author of Wanting to Want: What Kills Your Sex Life and How to Keep It Alive . "If they've waited until marriage to take this important step, they may have the impression that it will be all magic and no struggle.

When people talk about how to make a marriage work, it's normally focused on you two acting as a team-communicating, planning, staying connected. And being a strong couple is undeniably important, but there's another important aspect of marital advice that's often neglected-and that's about keeping up your individuality.

It used to be that a satisfying TV sex scene was hard to get past a network's standards and practices team, but nowadays some television shows are famed for their intense NSFW lovemaking above all else. (Looking-and blushing -at you, Game of Thrones .) To help you find those programs, we've rounded up scenes from shows that are known for their quality or sheer quantity of hanky-panky.

Calling our virgin brides! Happy wedding day! We know you've been looking forward to this and we are here for you. Losing your virginity is a strange experience, no matter the circumstances. It can be beautiful, weird, strange, and wonderful. When you take it slowly and listen to your body, it will be awesome.

Wedding night sex may be the most overhyped part of getting married. There is so much pressure to have amazing sex after you say "I do"-but we're not quite sure why. For many couples, sex is already a big part of their relationship, and let's face it-wedding sex can rum the gamut, from sweet and romantic to super overrated or even a disaster.

Couples often exchange handwritten notes on the morning of their weddings. How sweet! If you want to partake in this adorable tradition but are having trouble putting pen to paper, we've got great tips on how to write a love letter to the groom on your wedding day that comes straight from the heart. "It's important to write out our feelings because very often we take it for granted that our partners know how we feel, when they may not," explains marriage therapist Dr.

Cue the sexual fireworks in your bedroom (or wherever you like to get it on) with a little foreplay. Sure, we call pleasure products “toys” and sexual encounters “play,” but sometimes you need to do more than just use it metaphorically. Because sex should be fun, and there's nothing wrong with a little silliness.

How do you know that you've found the one? Chances are it's because you're dating someone completely different from any of your ex's or they've gotten you to care less about Netflix binging and more about spending quality time with them. But how do you know you want to marry someone? Usually, it's when we find someone who makes us ditch our bad habits and become better at being in a relationship than just being solo.

ВЂњThe first year of marriage is the hardest,” I told my friend, trying to be comforting. The truth is, I'm not sure why I said it. It's just something people say-I had no idea if it's true or just helpful to hear. Why would the first year be the hardest? I assume that it was some kind of hangover from before people lived together, when marriage meant getting used to someone being all up in your space for the first time.

When it comes to your significant other, chances are good you rarely ever call him by his real name. You probably have sweet nicknames for your husband that you've been using for as long as you can remember. From the totally timeless to the trendy and new school, here are some of the best nicknames for husbands according to real brides.