Being married - one month in

So what's it like to be married?

On the day, its the biggest party that you ever go to where you spend the most time apart from your intended.

In the week afterwards, the pair of you are the biggest gossip/news amongst friends and work colleagues who trade photos of you like collectable cards.

During the honeymoon you feel almost like you're letting down the side if you don't look sufficiently romantically lovey dovey to each other at all of the lovely hotels who've upgraded you, and ungrateful if you don't drink all of the free champagne that appears on check in. (how to put on 5 kg on a honeymoon - tell everyone its your honeymoon).

When you get home from the honeymoon you feel like the biggest life decision you have to make together at that point is where in the house to put all the wedding presents from the gift registry.

Then, when it gets to a month, you get the wedding photos back from the photographer, and finally get a chance to try and see what everyone else got to see on the day, you are too tired to stay up and drink that celebratory bottle of Moet with the husband when he gets home from work. No pipe, no slippers, no 'honey I'm home' cocktail.

So far being married has been quite similar to not being married, except that we don't have to worry about an impending wedding.

Its full of shocks and surprises, but not from your new husband. Random people, like the lady in the Hertz office in NZ, find it amusing to say to you while picking up the rental car "your husband booked that dear" and see the look of confusion on your face as you try to remember that you are married. What is more awkward is when colleagues follow you around calling your new name (Mrs Ross) and you fail to respond because you think they are talking to someone else. The lady at the cattery who was trying to work out why our cats have different surnames to each other. Should we change them? Register their new family name with cat deed poll? How far do you go?

The best bit is all of the free time I have now, no more planning, no more trawling the internet for ideas. And the bestest bit ever - my addiction to trashy wedding shows on TV has gone. Completely disappeared! Thank god.