Marriage is a major decision and takes a lot of dedication. This decision can determine the rest of your life so it is important to know as much as you can about your spouse before marriage. Many people are in a committed relationship for years before they finally decide it is the right time to marry, and this is the most common way to get them. (Image Credit: Brian Hartley/Unsplash)
There are other ways to learn more about your spouse and they include some very interesting ones too. The important thing to remember is that you want to feel comfortable knowing as much as you need to know before marriage because this is, hopefully, a lifelong commitment.
Check out some ways you can ensure you know who you are marrying.
Genealogy Tests
If you want to learn about your spouse, and yourself, then a genealogy test could be the way to go. This is a fun and interesting way that the two of you can learn more about your family history and find out where you come from.
You can find genealogy services here which help you learn about family past through records, documents, family trees and similar information. One of the good reasons for genealogy testing, besides the fun of it, is that you can learn a lot about family history to trace ethnicity and other important identifiers.
Medical Records
In a similar way to finding out about the family history, medical records are something that can be used to understand potential conditions or genetic predispositions that your spouse may have. If you plan on having kids with your spouse someday, then it is beneficial to know what potential medical or mental concerns there may be.
This is also important when considering what kind of costs may be associated down the line as well. It never hurts to be prepared and thinking about these future issues and knowing the medical history of the person you plan on marrying is a good way to alleviate some of those uncertainties.
High School Reunions
An informal way to meet people from the past is to attend a high school or college reunion of some type. These are places that you can get to know how your future spouse was back during their younger days and provides a lot of time to hear some fun stories from their past.
These events are good to meet who they used to hang out with and all sorts of information that they might have forgotten. Usually, you can see yearbook photos, class photos, and all kinds of pictures or videos. This can be a really fun way to learn more about your partner. It also lets you visit their hometown if the two of you live somewhere else.
Meeting the Parents
Meeting the parents is a must before marrying but sometimes people wait a while for whatever reason to introduce their partner to their parents. Parents are a good way to gauge how their personality has been developed because of hereditary reasons.
It also shows you likely what your spouse might look like as they grow older as well. Meeting the parents is an important step in any relationship and it should be done before you decide to get married because you want to be on their good side and potentially receive their input on the idea of marriage.
Meeting the Friends
Lastly, you want to meet their friends. Not just high school or college reunion friends, the real, close friends. Your partner may have many or may have a small circle of companions but it is important to get to know them because they are going to likely be at your wedding. This is easy to do and usually happens organically.
Your partner invites you out to hang out with the group and so on, but it is still important to learn about your partner from some of the people who see them in their most natural state. Friends are a great way to get to know your partner and could end up becoming some of your best companions as well.
You need to know a lot about your spouse before marriage. Successful relationships, and eventually marriages, hinge on trust and knowledge of your significant other. It helps the two of you work through fights and feel more in tune with one another, so it is important to know who you want to spend the rest of your life with. This list of ways to learn more about your spouse before marriage will help the two of you build a stronger bond that will make the spark last.