Marriage
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Did he/she ever marry, or at least come close to it? What kind of wedding did he/she have? Who attended? Choose this Topic to record all the events, from the very special engagement to life and times together.
Did he/she marry?
- How and where did he/she meet his/her spouse? Describe the situation. Did he/she know that this was the person he/she would marry?
- Describe his/her engagement. Who proposed? Was it traditional? Was the proposal a surprise or was it expected? What was their reaction?
- Did his/her parents approve of their engagement? Why or why not? What effect did it have on him and his/her sweetheart? Did his/her parents' opinion change after the wedding?
- How long was his/her engagement? Did it seem to last forever or did time just fly by?
- What was their wedding like? Did they have a large ceremony, a small ceremony, or did they elope? Was it a religious ceremony? Where was the ceremony held? In a church, garden, or home? Did anything out of the ordinary happen during the ceremony? What was it?
- Who attended the wedding? Were their family and friends present? Did anyone participate in the ceremony? How did they choose them? Did they have a flower girl or a ring bearer? Who?
- Was the reception memorable? Was food served, or just cake? Was there dancing? How many people did they invite?
- Did they have any traditional customs or rituals at the reception? What?
- Did they go on a honeymoon? Where did they travel? Describe the vacation. What was most memorable?
- What expectations did they have regarding marriage? For example, did they think they wouldn't argue after they got married, because they never saw their parents argue? How did their expectations change as their marriage matured?
- Did they go into marriage thinking they could change something about the other? What were some of those things and how did it work out? Did they change or did they learn to live with each other?
- Did they go through any major adjustments when they were first married? How did they work through the issues of joint finances, housing, and living with another person?
- Describe the various stages of their marriage. Were there any high points that stand out? What about any low points? In what ways did their marriage grow stronger or weaker from these times?
- When did he/she first meet his/her in-laws? Were they accepting? Did they welcome him into the family? Describe the adjustment of entering into a new family. Was it easy or difficult?
- How did they spend their holidays? Did they trade off between families? Was their time divided equally?
- Did he/she feel he/she had to give up anything when he/she got married? his/her home, career, independence, or friends?
- What did he/she think he/she gained from getting married? A lifetime companion, more time with the one he/she loved, or financial security?
- Describe his/her spouse. Was his/her spouse romantic, considerate, or stubborn?
- What were the roles in their marriage? Was one person the breadwinner, the homemaker, or the decision-maker? Were the roles intertwined? Did they change over time? In what ways?
- What did they have in common? What were their differences? In what ways did they make them compatible and incompatible?
- What issues did they argue about when they were first married? Money, politics, child rearing, religion? As their marriage matured, did they argue about the same issues?
- If they never divorced, what was their secret? How were they able to stay together? What advice could they give to others?
- If he/she had it to do all over again, what changes would he/she make? Why?
Did he/she remain single?
- Why didn't he/she marry? Was it a deliberate choice? Did he/she not meet the right person?
- In what ways did being single affect his/her life? Was he/she more independent, self-reliant, responsible, or was he/she more lonely, maybe irresponsible, or carefree?
- What did he/she like most about being single? Was there anything that he/she found difficult about being unmarried?
- As he/she matured, did he/she have a hard time socializing? Were all of his/her friends married?
- Because he/she was single, were people always trying to play matchmaker with him? Did he/she like this or did it bother him?
- Did he/she ever consider marrying someone and then have the engagement break off? What was the situation? Was it his/her choice not to marry or the other individual's choice?
- Was he/she involved with someone who was his/her life companion but whom he/she never married? Describe the relationship. Why did they choose to remain unmarried?