Building a relationship takes hard work. Structuring an interracial marriage adds its own twists and flavors to the existing challenge. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the demand of picking and choosing which cultural values that you and your spouse must compromise over for the life of your marriage, you are not alone.

Stress is your #1 enemy, not your in-laws. It can cause you and your in-laws to feel like you’re working against each other. A “perfect” wedding often comes with a great amount of stress and most of us, including me, do not realize how much anxiety we accumulate during the wedding preparation.

We are afraid of being seen as the “bad guy” in our partner’s eyes. We are afraid that they may stop loving us because we say “no” to things that we are not comfortable doing. There are many reasons why people feel hesitant or neglect boundary setting with their significant other.