Things I learned about Love and marriage
1)Before marriage-make the marriage important not the wedding
When you do this you are not thinking all about yourself, you are being less selfish and you want to make the other person happy.
2)marriage is a give-give relationship, not a give take relationship
If you have one person giving and one person taking, the taking person may be happy but they will get more selfish and it could potentially end up with the marriage ending or maybe/hopefully some counseling to help the couple find what they could do. Also, in this give-take relationship the person giving might want something back and the other person may not know what to do or may not want to.
3)When you are married you become ONE
When you are married you and your spouse will talk about everything, you will make decisions together and do things together that you wouldn't normally do with someone else. You may be stepping out side your comfort zone for a while but it is always for the better when you try and become one. When you are cohabiting this doesn't really work, you don't really become one because you haven't made that commitment and you don't feel obligated to shared everything because you still think "well, we're not married so why do I have to tell you everything?"
4)communication is key!
In a relationship, marriage or not marriage, communication is key! When you comunicate with your spouse you are telling them that you trust them and that you want to tell them things and in return want them to tell you things.
5) Know, Trust, Rely, Commit, Touch
Soooo, In any relationship you are in getting to know the person is the first thing you should do. In coming to know them, because you are communicating with them you are coming to trust them and in turn they are coming to trust you more, as that communication and trust build you will later be able to rely on them...kind of like a really really good friend. Once you have build that trust, then comes the commitment (I feel like this should be the period when you start dating because everything else builds out of friendship), one thing to be careful about is not letting the touch factor enter the relationship to early because then it can cause problems and might be in the relationship just because of the touch factor and that is never good.
6)Love
Love is an active process, this requires both the man and the woman and a whole lot of giving and caring for one another. One of the apostles once said, "Love is having an anxious concern for the well-being of another person."
7)Intimacy
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we learn that sex between a man and a woman is a sacred thing and should not happen until you are married and you are a husband and a wife. Intimacy in marriage is something that is a beautiful thing and it is something that God is pleased with, it can bond the husband and wife together in many ways and it can bring children in the world, one of the greatest blessings.
I once heard that there in not "the one" person out there for you, there is a good, better and best (the way I look at it) out there for you, and when you find what you think may be the best for you the only things to do is love that person. "choose your love, love your choice." Love is something that takes work on both sides and requires you loving your choice wholeheartedly! In the end, it is up to us to find that imperfect person and love them so much and treat them like the son or daughter they are.