Newly engaged? Have you considered pre-marital coaching leading up to your big day? Friends, many couples laugh at me or immediately shake their heads and tell me they are not religious and don’t need it when I ask them about pre-marital coaching. I believe in long lasting marriages and want to help my couples strive after the wedding planning is done. I recently chatted with Shawn Miller, Owner of Young, Hip & Married to learn more about what it is, what to expect and why couples should invest in their marriage. I personally learned a lot and can’t wait to share this information with you.

I love working with Shawn and his team of officiants. It’s not just us but our couples rave about them too! Young, Hip and Married exists for two reasons: to help couples get married and stay married. With a mission to eradicate dull and boring wedding ceremonies from the face of the planet and to help couples create a sweet lifelong union that gets better with age!  Young, Hip & Married will marry you YOUR way: creative and personalized ceremonies are their speciality! Their relationship coaching is designed to equip couples with the necessary knowledge, resources and skills to not only stay married, but also love the journey. Your marriage is one of the most important relationships you’ll ever have, let YH&M help you start off strong and thrive for life. Side note, if you are in search of a marriage officiant check them out!

So what is Pre-Marital Coaching? In simplier terms, it is designed to equip couples with the necassary tools for a long and successful marriage. They get down to the nitty gritty with no religious content what so ever! It is not a group session, a weekend long retreat answering uncomfortable questions and role playing but a session for just the couple and a marriage coach offering advice and working with you to create a successful marriage. Shawn shared his personal experience with me, with his wife Erica, before they got married. They took pre-marital coaching not because of a requirement but because they truly believe in investing in their marriage. They had three older couples meet with them, ask them questions and share their own personal journey with them. They taught Shawn and Erica what to expect, what marriage was like and equipped them with the tools to have a successful and happy marriage. These couples helped Shawn and Erica align their expectations and bring them back to reality to what marriage is all about. Pre-marital coaching isn’t about solving problems but about making relationships stronger. It doesn’t have to be broken to be fixed. Anything you want to last forever will take some work. Marriage is no different! Couples that invest in coaching have a 30% higher success marital rate than couples that do not and 44% of all couples today participate in pre-marital coaching according to healthsearchfunding.org. Shawn’s advice for any couple is communication, honesty and making growing together a priority.

I read this quote recently and it really stuck with me, “many couples do not prepare for marriage but only the wedding itself.”. Your wedding lasts one day but your marriage lasts forever. It is important to remember to hit pause from time to time and focus on the relationship. When sending monthly checklists to my couples I enjoy adding date night or something relationship related to remind them of the marriage that waits for them after the wedding day. Some couples go out and re-create their first date, they share top ten reasons they love about each other or even go off the grid for a day and spend it only with each other. Trust me it’s a lot of fun and a great excuse to spend time together. I challenge you, this weekend, hit pause on the wedding plans and spend time together. Ask each other those important questions and discuss your expectations of married life. What is the meaning of your marriage commitement? How many children will you have and how will you raise them? How will you resolve conflict? How will you invest in your marriage moving forward? What are your expectations?

“A perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other” Young, Hip and Married

So how does it all work? Head on over and connect with Shawn here and tell him I sent you. Set up a time to meet (or Skype) and get started on their online assesment test. Everything you could ever imagine asking is included and covered from finances, children, beliefs and even household chores. After your results are in you will meet with a marriage coach to discuss your couples report covering expectations, areas of conflict and strengths. The best part? They offer a 100% money back guarantee. Coaching starts as low as $97. Better yet, be the first to email me interested in participating and I will pay for the Give me a Taste package to get you started. My gift to you. You’ve got nothing to lose! For more information on Premarital Coaching check out the video below.

https://youtu.be/9PUX3CJYU-s

Wishing you a long, happy and successful marriage!

Stay Young. Stay Hip. Stay Married

Photo credit: Gucio Photography (SHE couple Andrea and Thorsten)