The wedding day is not a culmination of your life but the beginning. From that point on, you will be spending your life with the one you love. Pre-wedding counseling helps make you aware of the small issues so that they don’t become big problems.

You are not the first to be here. You meet someone that fills your heart and your head. For several months (or years) it seems you both are living in a cloud of bliss. The air is rare up there and you never want to touch the ground again.

Eventually there will be talk of an engagement and a wedding. You both have never been more in love. Unfortunately, when you are so enamored with each other, life issues don’t usually come up. Things like religion, sex, children, personal values and money are nowhere in the equation at this time. To that end many wake up one day after several years of marriage wondering who this person is that they married.

Pre-wedding counseling is a solution to the nightmare of divorce and unhappy marriages. Counselors know that your love overshadows everything else at the early stages of your relationship and their job is to make you aware of the issues before entering into a lifelong union.

The Counselor – Counseling is usually done by a minister or priest. Most people marry in a church and it is sometimes policy for the couple to engage in counseling before they are allowed to walk the aisle. If you are going for a non-traditional wedding, your counselor can be a licensed family therapist who has experience with pre-marital counseling.

The Sessions – Counseling sessions can range from one or two to an entire course. It is up to the counselor and the couple. The couple and the counselor meet alone to discuss issues that are important to a marriage like the ones mentioned earlier. It is necessary for couples to sort out their individual thoughts on these and other matters to see if they are compatible at the deeper levels of a relationship.

The Outcome – A firm foundation secures the home that is built upon it. That is the goal of pre-wedding counseling – to build firm foundations. The time to discuss children is not after three years of marriage when the biological clock is ticking. Money issues can’t wait until the well runs dry.

The goal of pre-wedding counseling is not to break up couples but to get them to see the big picture of their lives. Think of it as another part of your wedding plans.

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So, you’ve decided to tie the knot. Now it’s time to find that special place for the impending nuptials. Why be limited by geographic boundaries? If you want to leave the country to get married, here are a few things you should know.

1. Plan ahead and save money. It is usually a rule of thumb that the earlier you plan anything, the better the deal will be. For a wedding abroad, getting the ball rolling as soon as possible gives you time to handle all the particulars. When you can’t feasibly visit the location to check on things, it’s not a good idea to leave anything to chance. A year in advance is not too soon for a wedding on foreign soil.

2. Who is coming? Granny may be able to come a few states away for your wedding but another country? Before spending a lot of money on the ceremony in Bora-Bora, check to see how many people can afford to make it. Look for package deals that include airfare for your guests. All-inclusive resorts provide activities, food and drinks included to lower the cost of their stay.

3. What are the wedding laws there? Things may not operate the same way in tropical destinations. Investigate policy regarding marriage licenses, the wedding officiate and any fees the locals charge. If the wedding takes place at a resort, you’ll have to schedule in advance for the ceremony.

4. Find a reputable wedding consultant. You don’t want to handle this yourself. Choose someone you trust to suggest where to hold the wedding and how to handle everything that goes with it. Wedding consultants who have handled weddings abroad work with travel agents to get deals for their clients and their guests. Ask family and friends for referrals. Ask as many questions as you need in order to pick the wedding consultant that is right for you.

5. Be open to change. Winter weddings are magical and spring weddings are beautiful. Despite the romantic notions you conjure up in your mind, getting married abroad may require you to be a little more practical. Choosing the off-season saves money as well as avoids the crowds that populate resorts and foreign destinations during the more popular times of year. Also, a weekday wedding might be required depending on what country you are in. these changes won’t affect the important parts of your nuptials but it will save your pocketbook.

Getting married in a new and exotic location can be quite exciting. Know what you need to do beforehand so there are no surprises on the big day.

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We have a new discount to announce for one of the best (if not THE Best) personal wedding website providers online. A wedding website is a great way to keep folks informed about the progress of your wedding plans, to let folks participate who may not be able to attend and for a nice recap of the ceromony for all involved. Here is the link and discount code… Enjoy!

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Did you know that love does NOT conquer all?

You see, often people get married with the idea that their “chemistry”
or undying love for each other will keep them together forever.

However, with almost 50% of marriages ending in divorce these days, it’s
obvious that this isn’t the case. Therefore, it pays to know a few little
secrets before getting married.

Here are 5 tips that help keep couples together long after tying the knot:

Tip #1 – Continue dating

Over the years, people often drift apart or relationships and marriages become
stale because couples fail to do new and special things together. That’s why
going on new and refreshing dates is so important. In fact, there is something
about “dating” that creates a sense of magic in a relationship and
can even bring relationships out of a rut. While on a date, you also put more
effort into your appearance, have more uninterrupted time to communicate on
a deeper level and are naturally drawn closer together. Stuck for ideas? Spend
the day at the aquarium, zoo, museum, carnival, bookstore, beach or park.

Tip #2 – Delay is often better

It’s a well-documented statistic that couples who have dated for a year
or longer before marriage have a significantly lower rate of divorce than those
who married after a short dating period. A year of dating gives time for many
emotions to surface and many character traits to be discovered. You may adore
someone in the spring, but despise him or her in the winter. Asking someone
for his or her hand in marriage on the third date isn’t romantic. It’s gambling.

Tip #3 – Always express your love

Oftentimes, as a relationship matures, partners tend to stop praising each
other because they ‘assume’ their partner already knows what they’re thinking.
When in reality, a day should never go by without you praising your partner.
Compliment them on their cooking, reaffirm that they’re the greatest person
in the world or tell them they’re a wonderful role model. If you want
to be loved and romanced by your sweetheart, love and romance them first. When
they’re feeling loved, it is much easier to love in return. Are you a super
supporter of what your mate does and says? So do you cheer them on and praise
them constantly? Or do they constantly hear boos or silence?

Tip #4 – Take time to understand your partner

Couples with the most problems are often the ones that say, “I just don’t
understand him/her.” So let me ask you: How knowledgeable are you about
your mate’s profession or the degree they are pursuing? Do you know anything
about his or her family heritage? Are you able to have a meaningful conversation
about her cross-stitch hobby or his interest in rugby? If you are a man, do
you fully understand what women experience during PMS or menopause? You don’t
need to be identical, but make an effort to learn about the things that interest
your partner in life and you’ll grow closer as a result.

Tip #5 – Answer the BIG questions

Does your partner want kids? Do you both want careers? Do they have a history
of spending their way into debt? Do they go to church?

In my opinion, the biggest reason almost half of marriages end in divorce is
because couples fail to ask each other the right questions BEFORE they get married.
I guess people think they’ll be able to change their spouses after marriage
and everything will be better. Wrong. If you fail to sit down and discuss finances,
religion, sex, housing, your future, and other topics in great detail, you could
end up with nothing but argument after argument for the rest of your days.

In the end, if you both have completely different views, desires and goals
in life, there’s no guarantee that chemistry or “I love you’s”
will help you stay together. Make it your utmost priority to understand each
other ‘inside-out’ BEFORE you take that walk down the aisle.

About the author:

Michael Webb is the author of “1000 Questions For Couples” the most
comprehensive book of questions that all couples should ask before getting married.
Covering lovemaking, religion, careers, money, children & raising them,
household work, personalities, the future and much much more. To learn more,
visit: 1000 Questions
For Couples

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