The happy couple on their wedding day at Modern Bride! Photo courtesy of Snap Victoria

A few weeks ago UsedVictoria.com was fortunate enough to be a part of the Modern Bride Wedding Event where groom Rob and bride Vanessa tied the knot in front of hundreds of people.  It was such a wonderful and moving occasion, making me wish I could do it all over again… but I guess that’s what vow renewals are for, right?

As part of the event, we ran a contest to win a brand new Ipad Mini! We asked the public to write down their best marriage advice for the newlyweds.  There were hundreds of entries, making it very difficult to pick the winner but we managed to whittle it down to six – and here they are!

We gave these gift boxes to Rob and Vanessa filled with everyone’s wedding advice!

1. Take at least one night a week to have fun apart and one night just for you two alone.

2. Being kind is better than being right.

3. Dance, often.

4. Real love is when you choose to love often even when you don’t feel like it. Have a happy marriage!

5. Keep a journal. Every time your partner amazes you or reminds you how much you love them, write it down. Sometimes we need reminders.

6. Stay friends through thick and thin, it will carry you through.

Difficult to choose, eh? They were all great advice but one stuck out to us as being simple and yet so important.  So our grand prize winner was chosen and the Ipad Mini went to… drum roll please… Debbie Boylan for her advice: “Stay friends through thick and thin, it will carry you through.”

Turns out that Debbie’s great advice came from personal experience, as her and her husband have been happily married for over 30 years!  That, in itself, deserves a prize in my opinion! Since Debbie has been happily married for so long, I thought I’d pick her brain to find out if she had any other words of wisdom to pass along:

1. Why do you think it’s so important to stay friends in a marriage?

Every marriage has rough patches; financial stress, family issues, life just gets really busy at various times. This results in not feeling totally engaged in the marriage at times. Remaining friends keeps the communications lines open until you get through what you are working through and can re-connect again. When my hubby and I would have a disagreement, I tended to go to my quiet place in my brain. He would say to me, ‘Can we be friends?’ and it would get me to come around every time and brought us back together; we quickly got over whatever was troubling us. We are soul mates and I knew this the moment I met him! I still get excited and my heart quickens when I see him.

2. As someone who’s been married over 30 years, do you have any other words of wisdom to those embarking on the marriage journey?

Find your soul mate, always be respectful to each other, be kind, recognize neither of you are perfect and accept that that is the person you fell in love with – flaws and all! We all have them. Take time for each other and yourself, even if it is only a few minutes to re-focus. Love each other and respect each other’s differences.

3. And finally, cause we gotta ask, what is your favorite thing about UsedVictoria?

I have seven grandchildren so I have bought and sold many things on UsedVictoria: high chairs, playpens, exer-saucers, desks, bed frames, bikes, my previous car, toys. I also review real estate on there – I am obsessed! And, I am always suggesting it to others – it works! It is a great tool and many people I know use it too! It is easy to use, even for the person not too savvy on a computer. My whole family uses it!

Thanks so much, Debbie for the wonderful marriage advice.  We hope you enjoy your Ipad Mini and you can finally tell people that you won a prize for having such a long and happy marriage… an amazing life achievement that deserves a prize anyways! Cheers to another thirty years!