If you saw our post about The Why Behind our Business, you know that we strive for our business to be about much more than pretty pictures. We want to impact marriages and make a difference in our couples’ lives. We want to be more than just wedding photographers, but an example of a successful marriage. We are nowhere near the “perfect marriage” (which by the way, there is no such thing) but we do know what has worked for us and may work for others! So this friends is where this series comes in: The Marriage Files. In this series, we share marriage advice and tips that have helped us throughout our marriage and strengthened the bond that we have. Whether it is advice that’s been given to us, or things that we found worked due to trial and error, we’re sharing all the things that edified our lives together and will hopefully help other couples strengthen their marriages as well! If you’re new to The Marriage Files, catch up with the first one here before you get started. If not, welcome back and here’s Part 4 in our series for couples and marriages! :)
The Marriage Files: Part 4
At the very beginning of our relationship, our pastor took a Sunday to preach about love languages. He broke down the 5 main love languages that people have and helped us identify which one was our love language. After hearing this preaching, Vic and I discussed what we believed were our love languages. To our surprise, they were, and still are, very different. You may be asking yourself, “What is a love language?” Well simply put, it’s how you give and receive love and how you perceive it from someone else. For example, you may give and want to receive love through words of affirmation. Meaning, you show someone you love them with sweet words and you want others to show their love the same way. Most of the time however, your spouse does not have the same love language as you do, so here are some tips on how knowing yours and your spouses love language can help your marriage!
1. Find out you and your spouses love language
The first thing you should know is that there are 5 different love languages: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. It is sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly what your love language is without knowing all the details of each love language. That’s where this website and quiz come in! You can take an online quiz to find out your love language here. I highly encourage for both you and your spouse to take this quiz and then discuss what your love language is because chance are it will be different.
2. Work on understanding your spouses love language
Once you both have taken the love language quiz, look at your love language (which will most likely be different from each others) and discuss what each one is. Make it a point to understand your spouses love language. For example, my love language is physical touch. I love being hugged, kisses and snuggling, and I show my love in the same way. On the other hand, Vic’s love language is gift giving. He loves to give people things and loves to receive gifts. We have to make a conscious effort to understand each others love language and show love in the way that the other receive it.
3. Make an effort to show them love in their love language
Knowing your spouse’s love language can be of great benefit to you and your relationship. It’s important to make the effort to show them love in their love language. Vic always makes it a point to hug, kiss, and snuggle with me because he knows that is how I like to receive love. And I make it a point to give him little things here and there because I know that it is his love language. Taking that extra step and making the effort to show your spouse you love them, in a way they receive it, will bring you closer and strengthen your relationship!
We hope this marriage advice helps those of you reading it! I highly encourage you to take the love language quiz and find out your love language and then have your spouse do the same! :)
