I think most single people have certain preconceptions of what their marriage would be like, of the difficulties in marriage, of how they would address the most stereotypical problems, etc.
For married Dopers:
Did you go into marriage firmly determined not to commit the mistakes of others - be it your parents, or society’s? How did that turn out - successfully?
Did you think, “I am determined to make our marriage turn out differently for the better than most marriages in society,” or did you not mind or care?
Did marriage turn out to be better or worse than you expected?
Did you go into marriage with high or low expectations?
I don’t think I had any particular expectations when I got hitched. I didn’t much enjoy the dating game and was happy to be out of it. So far it has worked extremely well. But after 51+ years it will be downhill all the way as we decay.
Marriage didn’t change anything. Didn’t expect it to. We had already been together for a few years and had invested in property together. It’s nice to be married, and say ‘My Wife’.
After the first 2 years together, we knew. My wife suggested we set a date. We did, and we got married. Didn’t change our relationship one bit. I’m there for her and she for me.