3 ways to get your marriage off to a good start

Getting married? Congratulations!

From the thrill of the engagement to planning the rest of your lives together, taking the big leap into marriage can be the happiest and most exciting time of your life.

It can also be a pretty scary time too, no matter what age you are or where you’re at in life.

The idea of forever with anything can be daunting, even if you’re super happy and sure of your decision.

A pre-marriage or marriage guidance course can help you work through these nerves or concerns with your partner, open up communication in your relationship and generally give you the space to reflect on what this commitment means to both of you.

Here are three benefits of taking a marriage guidance course before your big day.

It gives you the space to sort out issues

Premarital counselling or a guidance course will give you and your partner the space to sort out any issues (big or small) that have been lingering and that you don’t want to drag with you into marriage. Does it bother you that you seem to do all the housework? Does it worry you that your partner avoids conversation about difficult things rather than work it out together? Are you concerned about your opinion clash on the best way to raise kids? Addressing issues with a relationships expert in a neutral environment before marriage is the best way to ensure a solid foundation for the future and to avoid letting issues build into something much bigger after the wedding. It allows you to enter marriage with a clean slate which is the best, or maybe only way to start married life.

It teaches you better communication skills

You and your partner might talk about everything. You might know each other very well, perhaps even more than you know yourself. However, in marriage as in life, there will be difficult times, issues may arise, differences in opinion, and so on. It is then that good communication and conflict resolution skills are key to getting over those bumps in the road. In a pre-marriage course, you will learn how to better communicate your needs, fears and desires to your partner. Couples also learn how to better understand and read each other. You will work on gaining compassion, empathy and communication skills that will get you through the tough times.

It will help you plan for the future

Marriage guidance can help you and your partner to plan proactively for the future. It can give you the time that’s just yours to set common healthy goals and plans, for example, buying a home, if or when to have kids, how to manage finances. You may have discussed these things a hundred times before, but you’d be surprised what you achieve when there are no distractions such as phones, TV or other family members.