21 Dating and Relationship Milestones Worth Celebrating

21 Dating and Relationship Milestones and Some Weird Ones

All romantic relationships go through certain landmark events. Each milestone in your relationship indicates the new chapters in your lives together, and you are headed in the right direction. It’s not only about the “big” ones (moving in together, buying a home together, getting engaged, etc.) but the smaller ones as well.

Most couples lose sight of the important little and everyday events as important as the big ones. For instance, they voluntarily offer to do the dishes or fold your laundry the first time. Although it may sound absurd, helping with chores represents the development of genuine closeness in a relationship. Continue reading as we explain what those big and little milestones are that may mean a lot to couples.

Progression of Dating

Dating is undoubtedly the beginning of a relationship. It can be one of the most blissful periods of your relationship, where you get to know each other. Most couples, even after years, could recall all these events that have become a cherished part of their memories. Let's dig in and explore some of the dating milestones.

1. First Date

The first date sets the trajectory of the entire dating period and sometimes even the relationship. You can evaluate whether there is enough spark to pursue this encounter further. Though more often you just exchange some basic facts about yourself on a date, it's the unsaid signals that our minds evaluate and tell us it's good enough or not.

2. First Kiss

The first kiss is a crucial moment during dating. It's the main indicator of whether your relationship is platonic or romantic. The effectiveness and timing of the first kiss can make or break the relationship. While kissing in perfect harmony can feel ecstatic, a bad kiss can be a turn-off.

3. Indulge in PDA

It may sound like a high school thing, but in adult life, too, public display of affection matters. A peck on the cheek and walking holding hands are the moments when you feel your heart just took a leap. It also reflects your acceptance of this individual as a potential partner.

4. Sleep together but not stay in the night

When or how it should happen can be purely conjectured as different people have different opinions about it. However, one age-old dating rule that most daters abide by is to not spend the night at your date's place after sleeping together. Though it depends on how high you are. Most dating couples claim they are not comfortable sharing a bed space when the relationship is relatively new.

5. Get undressed with lights on

Ok, we admit it may not apply to all, but it is an important milestone for many. It indicates that you are now comfortable in your skin in front of this individual. Moreover, you have no fear of being judged.

6. Introduce them to your friends

Meeting friends is a big ritual for many, especially women. They value their friends' opinion a lot, and their approval matter to them. Moreover, the choice of friends they make also lets you evaluate a person's interests and choices.

7. Leave your toothbrush

In modern dating, a toothbrush does symbolize that you want to go beyond dating and think about a more profound commitment. Today’s generation is all about hooking up, and it is considered normal; thus, leaving your toothbrush can be a non-verbal way of introducing a monogamous element in your relationship.

Relationship Milestones

8. Become GF and BF officially

It may seem easier to remain blissfully happy in the hooking up phase forever, but moving the relationship further is the ultimate goal. The new hip phrase for this milestone is DTR (Defining The Relationship). Even if you do decide to DTR, it is not necessary to go public already. You can go one milestone at a time.

9. Celebrating Birthday Together

Whether you plan to give a perfect birthday shoutout on social media or go for a road trip together, your efforts in planning his or her birthday matter a lot. Most couples remember their first birthday's together even after years.

10. Adjusting with imperfections

You might not know many things about your partner during the dating period and explore when you start spending both days and nights together. For instance, seeing your girlfriend without makeup for the first time, witnessing their vulnerability and emotional side, etc. This milestone may sound trivial, but it also depicts how far you can go to adjust to being with your not-so-perfect but a perfect partner.

11. Saying “I Love You”

Depending on what you think the phrase “I love you” signifies, you should wait a certain amount of time before expressing it. Some people wait months or even years to declare their love because they think the phrase “I love you” has a lot of significance and want to be certain.

12. Status update on social media

Once you confess your love to each other, it’s time to declare it to the world. These days it means changing your relationship status on the social media platform. For some people changing relationship status on social media is more important than their partner saying that to them in person.

13. Introduce to your parents

The relationship is getting serious now. Meeting parents is a giant leap in your relationship. When you reach a certain stage in your relationship, the question is not “if” but rather when you will meet your partner's parents. There is really no “correct” time because each relationship develops at a different pace.

14. Get a drawer for your things

You are already spending a considerable time at your partner’s place, and it seems only logical to have a space to keep your things. You can't always carry your bags with you. It also shows how accommodating your partner is to your needs.

Couple Milestones

15. Travel together

Life involves a lot of travel. It revitalizes the spirit and aids in stepping outside one's comfort zone. When you travel with the person you love, you can be more open to new experiences, meet and engage with new people, and learn more about the individual you are traveling with.

Traveling together also comes with multiple benefits, such as making your bond stronger, improving your ability to communicate with each other, and, more importantly, creating memories together.

16. Have future conversation

All couple starts discussing the future at different stages of a relationship. It's a personal choice when to begin conversing about the future, but it's definitely a meaningful conversation. Whatever your long-term objectives are for the two of you—marriage, cohabiting, or simply making a lifelong commitment to one another—this talk helps you understand what you need from one another.

17. Move in together

Staying together, managing a house and budget together, and sharing chores can teach you how to work in harmony and know about the other person’s choices. Many call it a test drive before the real deal happens, and that is to some extent true. It is time you test your actual compatibility. Marriage comes with a lot of social pressure; live-in, on the other hand, gives you personal space to explore future possibilities together as a couple.

18. Get Engaged

A significant milestone in a relationship is getting engaged. In order to ensure that you know your partner well before asking them to marry you, it is preferable to stay together for some time.

19. Get a pet

Co-parenting an animal puts your capacity to cooperate with each other to the test. You grow closer to one another by overcoming obstacles and sharing love. As pet parents, you gain knowledge along the way and share valuable lessons. The ups and downs of raising a living thing solidify your relationship and teach you how to work as a team.

20. Buy a home together

Owning a property or a home together is not a traditional route to home ownership. However, it happens more frequently than you imagine.

21. Get married

What comes after engagement? Of course, marriage! The most celebrated ritual that cultures across the world celebrate with great enthusiasm. However, it may sound like the end of a relationship; it's just the beginning of many new milestones you achieve together.

Weird Relationship Milestones

We all recall significant events in a relationship, such as the first date, the proposal, moving in together, etc. We fail to see that while these moments may be significant, there are many smaller ones that may also deserve some acknowledgment.

Milestones that prove you're in it for the long haul—are those straightforward and perhaps weird moments. The trivial daily events that go unnoticed and that you probably believed were unimportant or perhaps not worth celebrating are actually vital stepping stones. So here's the list of all the funny, odd and weird relationship milestones.

• Farting or burping in front of each other
• Taking money from each other
• Stop locking your phone
• You start sharing inside jokes
• You do not need to pack separately for a trip
• Trusting your partner to book hotels and dinner reservations
• Become the emergency contact
• Fighting and making up afterward
• Not caring about leaving your social media account open
• Sharing clothes

Bottom Line

A blossoming relationship is powerful because of the numerous defining moments a couple encounters together. In the healthiest relationships, partners who successfully navigate these important milestones learn to trust one another. They also learn to communicate openly, make concessions, and devise solutions that are ideal for both.