The First Dance offers Marriage Preparation Online or at Home. Get wedding discounts for qualifying purchases!
Money: A Top Marriage Stressor ($25)
This award winning game will get you and your partner talking about your ATTITUDES on money...spending, saving, security.
No matter what your money views, there is no "right or wrong." A few big "a-ha" moments may greatly help your wedding and married life. read more
Take Back Your Wedding
A unique book covering all the interpersonal drama of wedding planning. No matter where you are in your planning, reduce conflict and avoid the "emotional landmines" that arise in wedding planning. read more
Paperback Version $12.99
E-Book download version $12.99
Buy on Amazon here
Wedding Help
- The Hour of Engagement Bliss
- Wedding Vendor Complaints They'll Never Share!
- Saavy Questions to Ask All Wedding Vendors
- Eloping: Avoiding Family Drama or Stirring it Up?
- Can You Afford a Small Wedding?
- What Wedding Planning Taught Me About Marriage
- What Are You Bringing To Your Marriage: Wedding Registry Guide
- Stress and Teamwork
- Wedding Priority Worksheet (PDF download)
- What Do You Want Out Of Your Honeymoon? (Interactive couple guide)
- After the Honeymoon
Common premarriage questions
- How much does premarriage counseling cost?
- We're quite happy, what would we gain from premarital counseling?
- What's the difference between premarital counseling and "regular" couples counseling?
- My fiance doesn't want to go - what can I do?
- We aren't in the same state! What can do?
- My parents are divorced. Does that have any impact on our chances of divorcing?
- What are the differences between counselors, clergy, educators?
How Much Does Premarital Counseling or Marriage Preparation Cost?
The cost of anything related to relationships varies greatly on what type of information you want and in what format.
Book material such as the Greatest is Love book we offer, or a conversation starter book written by a marriage therapist) are two examples of people who work with many couples and have been able to boil down the core issues into book format. This potentially lets you save a lot of money (and potentially resistance to talking about your marriage to a stranger.)
Generally the more personalized you get, the more expensive it will be due to the level of training and experience someone has in mental health and relationships. Our Couple-Checkup inventory is personalized but VERY AFFORDABLE because it's online and automated. However, the "what do we do with the information" may still require a marriage counselor.
Generally classes will be the least expensive, especially if they're in a church setting or done by lay marriage mentors. Next would be classes, workshops or retreats by licensed mental health professionals. And the most expensive would be individual marriage counselors.
Being Realistic About Your Relationship Health
A question to ask yourself is whether you're being realistic about your relationship, and whether it might be worth some conversations to enhance what will be a long road of normal ups and downs. If you're still in "bliss" as a couple, the question is whether you're going to survive coming down to reality or whether you'll assume the marriage has failed because it finally hits "normal" levels of a normal relationship.
Hint: you're in "bliss land" if you can't think of anything wrong with your fiance, have never had an argument, or get defensive at the very IDEA that you may have conflict at some point in your relationship. It's terribly exciting to be at that stage in a relationship and every couple has a different "calendar" for when they move to the next stage. It's just important to realize you're in that happy stage that is unique to the early times.
If you're in troubled waters now, it's best to see an individual counselor who may forget the "general marriage prep" topics and dive directly into your issues, whatever they may be.
If you or your fiance come from divorced parents, the research shows very clearly your risks of divorce are significantly higher. You may be best going straight to a marriage counselor to help keep inevitable issues from doing great damage. When life gets tough and your own model is to exit a relationship, what will you do instead? This is where marriage counselors can assist you in developing the necessary skills and sense of confidence in what a healthy, lifelong marriage looks like.
