To celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, we’re answering ten questions about our first year of marriage!

photo by faith teasley photography 

What has brought you closer together this year?

Joshua: Living together has definitely brought us closer. Doing so has allowed us to learn a lot more about one another. Also, going on trips together has provided us more experiences where we could learn about one another, have more time together, and what the other person likes to do in varies situations.

Laura Leigh: Going to church and working on our faith together has absolutely brought us closer, in such a special, intimate way. As well as obviously living together. That’s allowed us a lot of additional time together we didn’t previously have. Therefore, we’ve definitely grown closer with all of that time.

What is your favorite memory of this first year together?

Joshua: HONEYMOON. Doesn’t get any better than that, does it? Ha. But seriously, it was great spending seven straight relaxing days together in paradise. Also, our anniversary trip to Savannah, we’re on it right now!

Laura Leigh: Can I say when we read our personal vows to one another? Or when we walked down the aisle as husband and wife? Those were two pretty special memories. If I have to choose a memory post wedding day, I would say coming home from a blog trip to the sweetest note Joshua has ever written me {aside from his vows}. I cried, read it again, and prayed he would get home sooner rather than later so I could squeeze him!

Did you have a wedding or honeymoon disaster that you are already laughing about?

Both: surprisingly no we did not! We were incredibly blessed and everything went perfectly both on our wedding day and throughout our honeymoon. Phew!

What has surprised you the most about being married?

Joshua: Not that it’s surprising but how awesome marriage is. You hear people talk too much about the negatives of being married and the struggles. There’s not a lot of talk of the positives, satisfying aspects of being married. People need to share that more and less complaining!

Laura Leigh: I’m with Joshua! I knew I would love married life. Mainly because of the man I married and how addicted I {was and am} to him. However, we were told so many horror stories about the first year and how rough it can be. So it should come as no surprise that I was a little nervous, half expecting a serious rough patch. Lucky for us, that didn’t hit {and hopefully will not}. We have had an incredible first year!! Married life is the BEST life!

Anything shocking you’ve learned about your spouse?

Joshua: How much she sheds! Also how much she likes her sleep each night.

Laura Leigh: His love for BBQ. I knew he loved it before but didn’t realize he’d make special stops on road trips to try out local joints. While also ordering it pretty much anytime we go somewhere that offers it. The man has eaten A LOT of BBQ.

What is a bonus quality you received in your spouse that you didn’t know about until married?

Joshua: That Laura Leigh would want to make dinner every night. I did know she liked to cook and bake prior to getting married but didn’t know she’d want and really enjoy making us dinner every night. Definitely a huge bonus! Her cooking and baking is VERY good!

Laura Leigh: That Joshua would be so helpful with…everything!! No matter what is going on or what needs to be done he is always there to help out. He loves taking items off my to do list and helping me reduce my stress level which is incredible! I know I can always count on him and sometimes he does things without me even having to ask that are so helpful. He truly amazes me all the time with how helpful and kind he is. 

If you could do anything different what would you do?

Joshua: No regrets, nothing I would do differently! Maybe, live in a one bedroom town home instead of two, to save a little extra money.

Laura Leigh: Get married sooner! Towards the end of our engagement we wished our engagement had been shorter. We were SO ready to get married!

What have you learned from your spouse this year?

Joshua: A lot more about healthy eating and healthier options when choosing foods. I still need a lot of work on that one. It is amazing what is not as healthy as you would think. I have also learned to slow down from Laura Leigh as I like to live everyday as jammed packed as I can.

Laura Leigh: I’ve learned to let things go from Joshua. He is SO good at doing that. He doesn’t let things get to him, frustrate him, or affect his day. That is 100% something I needed help with and my husband has taught me how to do that. I am a lot more easy going and care-free now. Thank you Hubs!

How have your feelings changed in just one year together?

Joshua: I am more in love with Laura Leigh than I was when we got married. Being together nearly every day has allowed me to love more and more about the woman that Laura Leigh is.

Laura Leigh: Much like the Brad Paisley song, “We’ve come so far since that day, And I thought I loved you then“, we have come so far since that day and I love him so much more! Which I thought was impossible as I saw him at the end of the aisle but I was wrong. I also respect and admire my husband even more. Living together after marriage and seeing more sides to him and his responses to different situations, my feelings of respect and admiration have really grown. He’s an incredible man!

What is something you’ve done that has worked and really made a difference in your marriage, that you would give advice to be successful to others on their wedding day?

Joshua:  I would make sure you have a really awesome day of wedding planner as it makes everything go smoothly and alleviates a lot of stress that people have on that day. Wait to see your bride until they come down the aisle. That experience is really amazing.

Laura Leigh: Be really open about all things! Especially finances. Money issues/disagreements are the number one cause of divorce and I can say, us having really open dialogue about money regularly has been extremely beneficial. We both know at every moment where we stand financially and how the other feels about our financial situation. We have the same goals and both aim to grow our savings and move towards buying a house together! Also, we have a rule, neither of us will purchase anything over $100 without speaking to one another. That excludes groceries but everything else is discussed. This definitely saves us from fights and frustrations. Therefore, I would highly recommend putting that rule in place.

Take a look back at our wedding here: Getting Ready, Personalized Touches, Ceremony, and Reception.

Also, view past marriage posts: Questions to Ask in Your First Six Months of Marriage, Our Take on Living Together, and  A Husband’s Take on Fashion Blogging.