What We’ve Learned After Seven Years of Marriage

I walked down the stairs exhausted, the lack of sleep showing in my eyes. Those dark circles were real. As I turned into the living room, I suddenly forgot how tired I was because I was looking at the cutest thing I’d ever seen! Lying on the couch were the two most important guys in my life. One of them I’d known for a while, the other had entered my life just recently. Sleeping soundly, tiny Liam was curled up relaxed on Dallin’s chest. They were both so peaceful, so stinkin’ cute! This was one of my favorite moments from our seven years of marriage.

Seven years…seven years! Flipping the pages on our calendar month to month suddenly started to become surreal. Yes, we still have a paper calendar! Culturally, the seven year anniversary is commonly referred to as the “seven-year-itch” meaning that happiness in a marriage usually starts to decline after being married for seven years. Maybe that’s because of complacency, boredom, who knows? Dallin and I have had our ups and downs, our highs and lows, but we’ve made it through them stronger than ever before. Throughout these seven years I’ve come to realize that every marriage needs something specific, it needs to have “balance”.

Over the past seven years Dallin and I have been fortunate enough travel and see some of the most amazing places around the world. We’ve visited Alaska, California, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and even the Yukon. Traveling is near and dear to my heart. To me it’s like taking a breath of fresh air and it strengthens our marriage because of the time we get to spend together exploring new things. Traveling is one of the most exciting parts of our seven years working to create a balanced marriage. There are other aspects involved in that “balance” that aren’t as exciting, but that are equally important.

As I think back on our accomplishments from the past seven years of marriage, I remember buying our first home, paying off our cars and debt, and most importantly bringing our son Liam into the world. Having a newborn baby is life-shaking, especially during the first few months of their life. They need you for everything. After we had Liam we struggled with getting enough sleep, with changing a million diapers, and with the blood-curdling screams created by a newborn with colic. Amazingly we got through those first ten weeks, and it has gotten easier…taking care of a baby has gotten easier at least. We’re still going through life adjustments, and getting used to our new daily grind. When you need to find a babysitter last minute so that you can meet with a potential client, or finding a babysitter and the extra time to go out on a date to dinner and a movie, it’s a pain. Even so, it has been worth it for both of us. Seeing Liam grow and connect with each of us is so, so, so worth it and seeing Dallin as a dad has been 1000% worth all the extra pains as well (5 years from now I’ll look back at this, and remind myself!) 🙂

So what have I learned after seven years of marriage? I’ve learned that a successful marriage is all about “balance”. Balance between time for work, time for fun, time for family, and time for friends. A strong sense of “balance” in our marriage has created a relationship of friendship, love, trust, and commitment.  Being Utah wedding photographers is the greatest job in the world. It’s so fun to cheer our couples on as they grow in their own marriages and find their own sense of “balance”!

Happy anniversary Dallin! I love you and am so grateful for your support in backing my wild and crazy dreams, and for all the amazing dinners that you make for me on a daily basis! Also, thank you for being my very best friend. I’m so excited to see where the next seven years take us.