After the excitement of a wedding and moving into the marital home, the reality of married life will soon sink in for many couples. The mundane starts to take over and the excitement experienced during the honeymoon period dwindles. But it doesn’t have to be that way! What we need to recognise is that marriage is a journey and couples need to make intentional efforts to steer it towards its success and keep the passion alive. Here are six things couples can try to strengthen your bonds and your marriage: Couple Face-Time Couples need to set aside time for regular heart-to-heart talks to make sure that they are on the same page in their relationship. Such sessions also give couples the chance to share about areas in their relationship that they would like to work on together to make their bond stronger. For Couple Face-Time to be effective, couples need to intentionally make time for it. Be present physically in the same space with your spouse, put your mobile phones aside, and make eye contact. As an analogy, Couple Face-Time is like a carpark lot where you can park your issues until you next visit it again and pick up from where you left off. An estimated 30 minutes to an hour of Couple Face-Time every week may be helpful for some couples to start with, but many have found it beneficial to increase it to three or four times per week. Do things together and have fun Spending time doing things together, laughing together, letting your hair down and having fun together are some things a couple should have in their relationship. Experiencing such moments together helps couples to bond and create shared memories. Try taking short trips overseas or picking up a new skill or hobby together. You may even consider signing up as a couple to attend Family Life Education workshops to pick up lifeskills to help grow your marriage! Share your moments Having your spouse share his/her disappointments or frustrations with you allows your lives to come together as one which is truly what a marriage should be. As you offer each other your presence, a comforting hug and support, you are living out your marriage vows – to love, comfort and honour each other. Set goals Most of us are quite accustomed to planning and setting goals for our careers and our personal development. It shouldn’t be any different with your marriage! Romance will not just happen on its own and relationships will not blossom by chance without any effort. Setting goals as a couple, planning your dates and keeping them, and honouring your marriage vows are some of the efforts you can make to grow your marriage. We made sure to do our best during courtship. So, let’s make an effort to do even better after marriage! Be willing to say “sorry” Remember that no one is perfect. When the time comes to say “sorry”, say it and mean it. It may take a bit more time and effort to rebuild the trust that has been broken, but it can be done if a couple puts their hearts to it together. Be part of a community The advantage of plugging yourselves into a community of married couples is that you will be surrounded by other couples who can be an encouragement to both of you. Hearing their success stories as well as failures, and sharing yours help keep your expectations of your own marriage in check. Want to know more about strengthening your marriage? Contact TOUCH Family at 6709 8400 or click here to find out more. TOUCH Family aims to build strong and fulfilling families, and promote the well-being of individuals and families in need. It impacts over 12,500 families and individuals each year through family-based services and programmes, and strives to provide a holistic integrated service to serve the needs of every person and family at every stage of their lives.