Here's a suggestion - spend as much time preparing for your marriage as you spend preparing for your wedding!
Why? Here are several reasons:
Your wedding lasts only a day - your marriage is meant to last for your lifetime.
While everybody enters a marriage "expecting" it to last, over 50% of new marriages end in divorce. Investing time and energy in preparing for your marriage before it starts is the best way to build a strong foundation now that will pay off many times in the future.
You've heard the saying "old habits are hard to break". Use this "marriage preparation time" to develop new habits that will serve you both for years to come.
We believe that the BEST marriage preparation program will include ALL FOUR of the following components:
A pre-marriage inventory (such as "PREPARE", "FOCUS", or "RELATE") that will highlight areas of your relationship that need to be discussed BEFORE wedding bells sound;
A course that teaches effective Communication Skills and Conflict Resolution Skills;
Application of Biblical principles for your marriage (If the Bible is not part of your faith experience make sure to find some other way to integrate your personal spirituality into your preparation for marriage);
A weekend getaway called Engaged Encounter
"All of that?” you may be asking, or "isn't that overkill?” you may be wondering. But wouldn't you agree that you are about to take a step that is literally the most important step you will ever take in your life - embarking on a journey that, statistically speaking, has less than a 50% success rate? With this much at stake (the future of your life...), wouldn't you want to do everything you can to increase your marriage's chances of success in a life of mutual love and respect? Of course you would! So let's do this the right way! This is NOT the time to be cutting corners or taking shortcuts.
Weddings are the most expensive, time consuming, and complex event that most couples plan in their entire lives. Everyone knows that the biggest challenge in planning a wedding is the people, not the logistics, but until now there was little help for couples squabbling with each other or having problems with parents, in-laws, siblings, or the wedding party.
Elizabeth Doherty Thomas and her father, William J. Doherty, Ph.D., bring a new perspective to the wedding journey and offer practical advice for couples and families as they really are--not as we might wish them to be.
THE FIRST DANCE DVD Watch this with your partner and you will find yourselves more on the same page with wedding planning. You will better understand your values and learn how to work well as a team in planning your wedding. For more information log on to: http://www.thefirstdance.com/group-CA.php
TAKE BACK YOUR WEDDING Here's a book loaded with wisdom and practical ideas for nearly every 'people stress' couples encounter while planning a wedding.
NEED HELP IN THE WEDDING WORLD?
The First Dance focuses on the PEOPLE STRESS of WEDDING PLANNING.
Engaged Couples
Resources for pre-engaged and engaged couples who want to prepare for marriage before the wedding day.
