I believe that what makes a marriage happy is that the two spouses truly love each other, or love each other enough… And I think that the secret of a true marriage is to be a kind presence for the other, to be polite etc.

At the beginning, when they have just met, each of them consumed very much energy in order to get the attention of the other person, making use of all sort of tricks in order to please and surprise the loved person. A young couple that will continue this tactic after marriage, and who even finds solutions to make it better, will prove over the years that they know how to wisely spend their life. You can express your feelings through other means than words: very often small gestures betray deep feelings. A gentile gesture, at the right time will send better your message than a noisy manifestation of your devotement. 

(Translation from: Charlie W. Shedd, Scrisori Caterinei, Editura Bizantină, București, p. 30)