With June right around the corner, many of you may be planning a wedding or celebrating an anniversary.

So what’s the secret to a happy marriage? In a recent article, we told you about new studies that looked into what makes couples tick.

The response was amazing. More than 250 of you left thoughtful, humorous and often poignant comments about what makes your marriage work and what mistakes you have made in your relationships.

We love to hear from our readers, so thank you for sharing your thoughts and leaving lots of great advice.

Here are some highlights of the marriage tips you provided.

The importance of friendship:

“Marry your best friend. That way you still like each other and talk to each other down the road” - J

“If you are not friends in addition to partners, it won't work” - Dolphinlvr

Have a sense of humor

“We are happy because of humor in the marriage. I make the jokes. My wife laughs at them” - Sailorpete

Remember respect

“Sarcasm is a killer in any relationship. Every jab, barb, cutdown and criticism builds until sincerity is difficult to detect” - Keleko

“Be nice to one another always” - TT

“Choose to take the high road, the little petty stuff is a killer” - Sue

Don’t forget to date

“We go to lunch on Saturday. We hold hands” –Amanda

Love

“Love is a verb. You choose to love your spouse. Love is not a feeling, it is an action” - Dannie

The importance of sex

“What finally worked for us: sex every other day! In perpetuity” - Goldie

“Keep the sexual tension there as often as possible, going out on scheduled ‘dates’ - Ms. J

“I always let my wife know she's the best, the most beautiful, and ‘hot’ to make me sizzle - Vic of New York

“If the men take care of the romance and the women take care of the sex, everyone will be happy - Mike

Children

“I've been married 2 years and having this kid has made it a thousand times harder” - Antwon

“If you concentrate on keeping each other happy, the kids will be happy” - Billyjk

“If there's significant doubt about having children, you just shouldn’t have them” - Jessica

Wedding vs. marriage

“When I watch these shows about these great big weddings, it is obvious that many of these couples are into the fantasy of marriage” - Alli’s mom

“If more people prepared for the "marriage" as much as they do the ‘wedding,’ the divorce rate would be much lower - Momoftwo

Argue carefully

“If you are starting to argue, take a break, eat dinner, watch some TV or sleep and then continue the discussion later” - Jean

And finally, a special shout out to Bubba, who wrote:

“If everyone had a wife like mine, there would be no divorces.”

Bubba, we think you have a lot of fans out there.

Love conquers all, even the bad economy, it seems.

An upcoming story on CNN.com will focus on how matchmakers are thriving in the recession as singles intensify their search for mates.

If you are feeling especially lonely during these tough times and thinking about hiring a matchmaker, trying online dating or asking friends to set you up, experts are offering some tips to ensure you entrust your heart to the right person.

“One of the things I really encourage people to do when they’re looking for a relationship is to evaluate [it] in almost a systematic way," said Nadine Kaslow, a professor at Emory University School of Medicine and chief psychologist at Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia.

"You need to think about, as you get to know somebody, what are the green lights to tell you to go forward, what are the yellow lights, or caution, and what are the red lights that say, whoa, stop."

Every partner, or potential partner, has their pluses and their minuses, so you need to have your eyes and ears wide open, she advised.

Negative signals can be subtle, especially in the early stages of a relationship. If someone is undermining you, not respectful of you or having trouble having you as one of the priorities in their life, that’s a problem, Kaslow said. She encouraged singles to talk to their friends and confidantes about what they are noticing in people they are thinking of getting involved with.

Compatibility is important, despite the often repeated adage that opposites attract, said Ann Robbins, the founder and CEO of LifeWorks Matchmaking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So an energetic, bouncy person would likely not be happy with someone who is really quiet and shy.

“Opposites do attract in terms of ‘I like the beach, you like the mountains,’ ‘I like pasta, you like steak.’ That kind of opposite definitely can attract,” Robbins said.

“But when it comes to values and it comes to lifestyle – the really energetic versus the really calm person – a lot of times it does not work and it really won’t work when it comes to values. Your values have to be in alignment.”

What would you like to ask a matchmaker? Let us know by visiting iReport.

Working for free might be the last thing you want to do if you’re out of a job and badly in need of a paycheck.

But volunteering may be the key to get your foot in the door of a great company and show the right people what you can do.

Building up a resume by creating a project for yourself and executing it free of charge is one survival strategy for job seekers during the recession, advises Penelope Trunk, author of "Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success."

“The way to get yourself into a company for free is to know the company really well, understand what they’re trying to do - and it’s a recession, so they’re short-handed,” Trunk said.

“So devise a specific project that is a cross section of your unique skill set and their unique need and be really organized about it.”

An advertising professional, for example, might volunteer to run an ad campaign at an agency, Trunk said. Even if it doesn’t result in a job offer, it’s something you can put on a resume.

Of course, even getting volunteer work is easier said than done. Smaller companies may be more open to it than large corporations, which have more formal personnel rules. The key is to have a detailed plan and be prepared to shine.

“Walk in there and say, here’s a proposal that I’d like to execute at your company so I can get practice,” Trunk suggested. “Show that you can overdeliver.” See her advice on whether you should get an online degree during the recession