Pre-Marital Counseling

 

People often spend a significant amount of time, energy, and money to plan a wedding ceremony and reception. Yet little time is spent preparing for the actual marriage that follows the wedding. Pre-marital counseling prepares Couple for the marriage and lifetime commitment they are making. Wedding planning is preparation for one day, one party. Pre-marital counseling is preparation for a lifetime, a marriage. The purpose of pre-marital counseling is to understand your partner’s views on important life decisions such as:

 

· Should we have children? If so, how many and when?

· Do we share the same faith? If not, how will this affect our marriage, our families, and our daily lives?

· Will money be shared? Will you have separate bank accounts or have joint ones? Who will decide how money is spent? Who will be in charge of managing the money?

· Who is in charge of taking care of the household (cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.)?

 

Pre-marital counseling is a necessary part of the wedding planning process. During this time it may be hard to consider that you will not always be happy and joyful about your marriage and spouse. However there will be situations and struggles that challenge you and your marriage. Pre-marital counseling provides the foundation to help you and your spouse return to a place of joy and happiness in the face of adversity.

 

The benefits of premarital counseling include:

 

· understanding your spouse’s beliefs about important matters (such as those listed above)

· learning how to talk to the other so they will listen

· learning how to listen to your spouse

· discovering how marriages around you can influence your marriage

· creating a solid foundation that can withstand future difficulties

· learning how to support each other during the stressful time of planning a wedding

 

As you pay attention to the details of the wedding (reception location, invitations, seating chart, etc.) also focus your attention on your upcoming marriage and the commitment you are about to make. Enroll in pre-marital counseling to benefit yourself and your marriage.