Originally posted at
The Marriage Academy of NY
http://marriageacademy.blogspot.com/

More and more engaged couples are participating in marriage preparation. Whether it’s with a religious leader or a secular counselor, it’s important to plan for the most important relationship of your life. So much time and energy is spent on planning weddings. I do believe that a wedding marks an important rite of passage and should be recognized and celebrated. However, the time spent planning the marriage should be considered more important.

With a divorce rate of almost 50% it is important, now more than ever, to take a proactive approach to marriage. Here are just a few of the benefits of marriage preparation.

1. You can take the time to focus on you, your partner & your relationship.

2. Highlight your strengths as a couple and plan for any potential areas of conflict.

3. There’s someone to guide the conversations who is a relationship expert and serves as an objective 3rd party.

4. Address common fears associated with giving up the independence and autonomy of single life.

5. Marriage Preparation is especially helpful for adult children of single or divorced parents.

6. Avoid repeating mistakes of previous marriage attempts (if this is your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th marriage).

7. Learn communication and conflict resolution skills that will be useful in times of stress.
Remember, NO couple gets married with the intention of ending in divorce. Participating in marriage preparation can reduce your odds of divorce by 30%. Marriage preparation is not a sign that your relationship is in trouble, but that you value it (and your partner) enough to invest in your shared future.

Posted under counseling, marriage, preparation