For the many modern couples who decide to have sex before marriage, the wedding night no longer marks their special "first time" together. Still, there is a certain expectation that sex on your wedding night will be something incredible. Between the rose petals strewn across the bed of the bridal suite and the day-long anticipation of your romantic night between the sheets, how could it not be?


While it's true that some people say wedding night sex is every bit as blissful as they imagined, others find the experience a bit, well, disappointing. We asked our readers to tell us about their first time as a married couple and what it was really like for them. Scroll down for six real-life stories that run the gamut from absolutely amazing to downright disastrous.


"Well, the joke is on us. I belong to this curious breed called Bengalis (residents of eastern part of India) and we are forbidden from having sex on our wedding night. In fact, we can't even have sex the next night, which is called "Kaal Ratri", which roughly translate to Doomed Night. It's only on the third night that we're allowed to finally share a bed but it's awful sex because the bed is decked out in foul-smelling tuberoses, which don't preserve well in our humid weather." - Samhita Chakraborty

"My husband and I got married last December right before Christmas. We rented a hotel room in a nearby lovely town. We arrived later than we wanted to and both of us were tired. He had a horrible sinus infection and I was pregnant. But somehow it was the best sex we'd ever had." - Cindy Flowers

"My husband and I decided to get married on Glacier Point in Yosemite, Calif. in September of 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony with a beautiful view. However, as a native Floridian, I was not ready for the altitude, and neither were our guests. The corset in my dress made breathing a issue to begin with, but when I added the altitude of 8,800 feet, I was gasping for air. After the ceremony we all went down the mountain for the reception dinner. We all found ourselves very parched and couldn't get enough to drink. Since we were all in a festive mood, the wine and champagne tasted even better and went down like water. After we adjourned to the marital bed, my new husband, try as he might, could not 'rise to the occasion.' We tried everything...and I do mean everything. Finally, we were so exhausted that we collapsed and just slept in each other's arms. With all of the 'wedding night issues' we were having, we did forget to turn off the fireplace before we went to bed. The last thing I remember of my wedding night were flames shooting out of the fireplace and the hotel manager pounding on the door. Talk about romantic. (Luck was on our side and we did not burn down the hotel!)" - Andra Hodges

"After the rush of the wedding day and hardly seeing each other the whole day it was such a sweet and wonderful way to reconnect and it was great to know that I'm actually allowed -- no, expected -- to do it ;-)" - Jacqueline Maritz

"Sex on my wedding night felt like something that had to get done, almost like a chore. I had been with my husband for almost five years at that point and I had had sex with him countless times, in various positions in a myriad of places, cities and countries; sex was nothing new for us. I love my husband and love having sex with him, but the whole day of the wedding was so long that by the time we finally got to bed, all I wanted to do was sleep. We had our ceremony at noon which was proceeded by three hours of picture taking, lots of talking, lots of food and a little too much wine. To be honest, I was so tired I didn't think I could do it, but I managed to do the deed and fell asleep within minutes of being finished." - Meaghan Rondeau

"We did not have sex on our wedding night. He fell asleep. I cried. We've been married 10 years." - Kina Reid

Click through the slideshow below to see some of the most interesting findings from iVillage's 2013 Married Sex Survey.





  • Top Turn-Ons


    Women's top turn-on was "feelings of love" for their partner, followed by "when your partner takes initiative." Men's top turn-on was "seeing your partner in sexy clothes," followed by "feelings of love."




  • Men Marry Their Best Sexual Partner


    Did you marry the best sex of your life? Turns out 68 percent of men tied the knot with their best sexual partner. Only 45 percent of women said the same.




  • Number Of Partners


    When asked how many sexual partners they have had, the most common response among men was six to 10 (25 percent chose this answer). The most common response among women was two to five (31 percent chose this answer). Yet, 19 percent of both men and women reported having just one sexual partner.




  • Men Watch More Porn Than Women Think


    Although 42 percent of women said their spouse never watches online porn, only 21 percent of men agreed. Sixty-three percent of women said they never watch porn.




  • We Don't Know What Our Spouse Is Thinking


    It seems that we often don't really know what our partner thinks about our sex life. Though 79 percent of men think their wives are happy with their sex lives, only 61 percent of women said they are. And though 55 percent of women think their husbands are happy with their sex lives, 79 percent said they are.




  • Sex Gets Worse Post-Baby


    Babies may be a blessing, but they might not help your sex life. Fifty-two percent of women and 49 percent of men said they had better sex before they had kids.




  • What Men Want


    The most popular desire on men's "sex wish list" was that their partner would initiate sex more often (42 percent). More oral sex was next (41 percent), followed by anal sex (30 percent).




  • What Women Want


    What do women want more of in bed? Foreplay (35 percent), to hear more loving things (32 percent), for their husband to last longer (28 percent) and oral sex (22 percent), according to the survey.




  • Men Cheat More And Are Less Trusting


    Men admit to cheating more than women (28 percent vs. 13 percent), and are more likely than women to say they'd have an affair if there was zero percent chance they'd get caught (32 percent vs. 13 percent). At the same time, 34 percent of men say they've checked their wife's phone for evidence of cheating, compared to 20 percent of women. And if they could cheat, who would it be with? Among men, 21 percent said a celebrity and 20 percent said a friend's spouse. Among women, 39 percent said an old flame and 24 percent said a casual acquaintance.




  • How Happy Married People Really Are


    On average, a majority of people reported being happy with their sex lives, though there was a noticeable gender gap -- 61 percent of women and 80 percent of men said they were satisfied.





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