Men dream in courtship but in wedlock wake.

The proverb contrasts the idealized hopes of courtship with the more practical experience of married life. Falling in love can make a shared future seem simpler than it will be.

Its warning is about expectations rather than the worth of marriage: daily responsibilities and a partner’s imperfections may become clearer after the wedding.

Use it as a wry caution when someone is imagining marriage chiefly in romantic terms, or when discussing how a relationship changes as a couple begins to share everyday responsibilities.