The Marriage Preparation Course is for any engaged couple who wants to develop strong foundations for a lasting marriage.

Over five evenings spent together you will learn important tools that will enable you to make your marriage work.

You will look at

• the importance of commitment
• how to recognise and appreciate your differences
  
• the art of communication
  
• resolving conflict
  
• spending time together
  
• nurturing your friendship
  
• making each other feel loved
  
• developing a good sexual relationship
  
• the importance of talking about your goals, values and dreams

The evenings are very relaxed. There is a meal followed by short talks interspersed with exercises and questions for you to discuss together as a couple.

Who is it for?

It is for any engaged couple who wants to work at having the best possible start to their marriage.

It doesn't matter how long you have been engaged - some couples have set a wedding date, while others have not. We also find couples who have been living together for a while use the course to explore the idea of getting married.

The course is based on Christian principles for relationships and is run by Christians but it is suitable for people with or without a church background. You do not need to be getting married in a church to come on the course.

Whats Involved?

The course takes place over five evenings.

A typical evening starts at 7pm and finishes by 9.45pm. Each evening includes:

A meal - you will probably sit together with two other engaged couples and a married couple known as a ‘support couple’ (they will be your hosts for the course). You can chat to the others or just use the time to talk to each other. At no time on the course will you have to disclose anything personal to anyone else.

Talk and discussion - each evening a live talk is given or a video of the talk played. The talk is broken up with opportunities for you and your fiancé(e) to talk through the issues raised as a couple.

Homework - at the end of each session you are given some homework to do together. This will help you to build on what you have learnt and give you the opportunity to apply it to your relationship. Don't worry - it won't be marked! It isn't looked at by anyone else and is just for your own benefit.

FOCCUS Questionnaire

Before the course starts you will be asked to complete a questionnaire called FOCCUS. This questionnaire will ask about different aspects of your relationship. It is not a test nor is it a predictor of whether your marriage will succeed or fail. It is a tool to help highlight any important issues that you would benefit from discussing before you get married.

It is by no means compulsory to complete the questionnaire but most couples find it very useful. Once you have completed it you will have the opportunity to discuss the results with your support couple.

Support couples

You will be introduced to your support couple on the first evening. They will be a married couple who have been married for at least two years. They will invite you to a meal at their home. You will have the opportunity to talk through any issues that have been raised by the course or through the questionnaire. Again, this is by no means compulsory but has been greatly appreciated by many couples.