6 years ago Mike and I eloped on the beach of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. He was wearing shorts and I a short knee length wedding dress. Only 3 people witnessed our wedding: Mike’s best friend, who was also accompanied by his wife and daughter, who was 7 at the time. She was miserable that she had to attend our wedding ceremony and reception because that meant that she had to miss the kids cruise the resort was offering. We bribed her with chocolate cake and all was good! It was a hot day, we poured sand, we laughed during the ceremony, we took pictures, cut the cake and shared in champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Then we immediately jumped in the pool only for all of my $75 bridal day resort makeup to run off my face like a sad lady stuck in the rain. We laughed and I went back under the water to recoup my face. It was everything we wanted it to be and more.

Even though we didn’t have a big wedding, we knew then that celebrating our marriage was important. This was both of our second marriages. Gasp. I am not sure we’ve revealed that online before. The truth is, both of us went into our first marriages not knowing the importance of marriage. I think we both got married to our first partners at the time because it seemed like the next necessary step. Not necessarily the best step and we ultimately realized that for one reason or another, we were not willing to work on the relationships we were in.

“we were not willing to work on the relationships we were in…”

Let’s let that soak in a bit.

Celebrating an anniversary is more than just celebrating another year passed. It’s celebrating the bond you have with each other. The day in, day out willingness to work on your relationship.

Strong marriages aren’t a given. They don’t just happen. Both individuals have to be willing to work together, every day, for the rest of their lives.

Complacency is the killer of all relationships, whether you are married or not. We should never take for granted the person we sleep next to at night and wake up in the morning with. And unfortunately, careers, kids and obligations can get the best of us. By celebrating our special anniversaries it allows us to focus on our marriages and rekindle the reason we said “I Do” in the first place.

Sometimes we need a special day to look forward to do that. Other times it comes easily and we do it every day. But the idea of celebrating everything together is what gives life meaning and happiness and ultimately makes for a strong bond and great marriage.

Mike and I wouldn’t have celebrated 6 years together if that wasn’t the case. He is my best friend and I am his. We also live and work together and know too well how life can easily take over. We always try to remind ourselves that our relationship is priority. Even if that’s as simple as text message saying we think the other is looking good today from across the room, or putting on the calendar a special dinner for our anniversary.

How do you celebrate your marriage? This article on Huffpost shows what other readers do. We’d love to hear your ideas!

Do you attribute a special place or song to your marriage and relationship? If so, check out some of our amazing traditional anniversary gift ideas.