Stacy Lucier: "My Secret to a Happy Marriage"

Getting married is one thing. Getting married, staying married, and *enjoying marriage* is a whole different ball game. After being married over a year, I could recommend little things like cook more, wear lingerie and a variety of other “do these things and your marriage will be happy.” However, these things are lame. Just watch the Desperate Housewives of Orange County and you will know what I mean.

In my opinion, a happy marriage comes down to two things: 1) Talk it out, and 2) Do what you’ve been doing...

Talk. Talk. Talk. Whether it's a debate over what to eat for dinner, deciding where to go on vacation, or just talking about work, talk about it all. Practice makes perfect, so get good. Eventually every marriage hits a rough spot, and if you can’t talk about bacon for breakfast, how are you ever going to talk about bigger issues like money, kids and your sex life? If you can’t talk about everything, you won't make it to 85, grey-haired and wrinkled.

Do what you've been doing, as in, be the person you were before marriage. People sometimes think marriage is a green light to change. You think, 'Now I should buy a house, have babies, cook more at home, let myself go...' But you got married because you liked each other. So if you went out before, go out now. There's no rule that says married folks can’t drink too much on a Friday night. If you had “ladies” night and “boys” night before, have it now. And take care of yourself! You want to be a woman your husband can brag about, and more importantly, you want to be a woman *you* can brag about.

-- Stacy Lucier, La Boudoir