Pre-marital Counseling

Did you know…

  • Love really is a drug.  Head-over-hills love has a very similar effect on the brain as does cocaine.
  • Over 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce.  Every time you marry after that, the divorce rate grows (especially when children are involved).
  • Communication might be the most important aspect of a marriage and most probably is the facet least practiced and most underrated (until problems arise).
  • Marriage is about more than you and your loved one.  In-laws, family traditions, feelings between mothers and sons, fathers and daughters and on and on and on and on, play into the relationship – even more after the bliss of the wedding ends.
  • The difference between desires and expectations is often a vast expanse.  What is expected gets lost in the desire for a perfect marriage, but expectations are tenacious things.  Knowing that there is a difference in desires and expectations and being able to share yours with your loved one is both important and difficult.

Prepare-Enrich

Marriage is a wonderful thing.  Preparation for marriage has come to mean planning a wedding, but the best investment in your marriage is laying a strong foundation. Our counselor, Susan Booth, is certified in Prepare-Enrich, a comprehensive marriage preparation (or retooling) of your relationship.  Check out the program at www.PrepareEnrich.com.  It employs a well-researched and very useful inventory that you and your potential spouse will complete on your own.  The scores for the inventory are sent to Susan and this provides a basis for your counseling.  No time wasted on issues that are not important to you.  Cost of the inventory is $35 (paid to Prepare-Enrich).  Together, you and Susan will plan your pre-marital counseling experience.

Pre-marital counseling is something that should be done sooner rather than later.  Many couples are learning that pre-engagement counseling is helpful (same process as pre-marital counseling) and makes planning the wedding less stressful because you understand more about each other.

Love is wonderful!  Marriage is wonderful, but it’s not easy.  Definitely worth it, but not easy.  Prepare-Enrich is a great way to be the best at your relationship.  Their inventory even has a control for the ‘everything is wonderful’ syndrome that all experience in the throes of love.  Call today to see how this program can help you.

In Georgia, there is a fee reduction on your marriage license when you have undergone pre-marital counseling. The application fee is waived when a couple presents a certificate of completion of pre-marital education in accordance with GA Code Section19-3-30.  Fees drop from $61 to $26.