People & Relationships

Create a Family and Keep Friends

The most important job newlyweds have is creating a family of their own. You have to determine the kind of family you want to have. Will it be just the two of you forever? Do you want to have kids? What kind of relationship will you have with your in-laws and extended family? Once you figure this out, you have to keep up with all the other relationships you and your new spouse maintain -- from the one with your parents to the ones with your friends. It takes a lot of work but together you can create a more meaningful life by surrounding yourself with good people -- and being good to them and each other.

After the Wedding -- Keeping in Touch
Deciding to Have a Baby
Getting Along with Your In-Laws
Your Relationship, Family, Friends, and Yourself

After the Wedding -- Keeping in Touch

During your engagement, you were probably connected to your family and friends regularly. Now that the wedding is over, you can still keep up that level of communication. In the aftermath of the wedding, there are plenty of excuses to keep the conversation flowing. There are the thank you notes, the photos, and the videos to share with your friends and family.

Deciding to Have a Baby

Often, even as the newlyweds are still cutting the wedding cake, relatives and friends ask when they're going to start trying to have kids. You and your spouse might not be prepared to answer that question. But after you get married you can start talking about having a baby with each other. Do both of you want children? How will the decision affect your marriage, your careers, your life? Deciding whether to have a baby -- and talking about it -- can be difficult. But it can also bring you and your spouse closer together regardless of what you ultimately decide is right for the two of you as a couple.

Getting Along with Your In-Laws

Dealing with the in-laws is often the stuff of legend. Part of making the transition from significant other to spouse is becoming part of your spouse's existing family -- and it's not always easy. The road to becoming a family is not always a straight path. With time, patience, and sensitivity, you and your in-laws might even become close.

Your Relationship, Family, Friends, and Yourself

Being a good spouse requires time management skills. You have to be able to balance your time, so that you have enough of it for your work, your relationship, family, friends, and yourself. It takes some time to hit your groove, but when you get your schedule straight, you'll see that lots of other things will straighten out, too.

Newlyweds

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