Plan Your Wedding—
And Your Marriage

Congratulations on your engagement! You’ve entered an exciting and occasionally nerve-wracking phase of your relationship. While many couples feel pressure to create the “perfect” wedding, now is really the time to begin laying the foundation for a healthy and lasting marriage. Your wedding will last only a day, but your marriage will last a lifetime.

At least, it’s meant to. You’ve heard the divorce rate is 40-50 percent in the U.S. This is true (see www.smartmarriage.com). Professing Christians, sadly, have the same rate of divorce as the general population (see www.barna.org).

Nobody plans on getting divorced when they marry. Most people who are “in love” believe that is all they need for a successful relationship. Love is a great foundation, but unless you have the necessary relationship skills and realistic expectations, the ordinary stresses of life can quickly sour your relationship.

Here are some benefits of a good marriage preparation process:

• Your communication skills will be strengthened
• You will determine if you are ready for marriage
• You will have an objective measure of your true compatibility
• Your will reduce unrealistic expectations of your partner and of marriage
• You will be more prepared for future challenges
• You will gain conflict resolution skills
• You will set goals for your future together

A thorough marriage preparation program helps you uncover and address areas of conflict now so they don’t lead to divorce later. You’ll deepen your intimacy and strengthen your communication skills, building a firm foundation for your life together. Couples in strong marriages still have problems, but they work at solving them in a healthy way. 

Isn’t it worth four to six months to give your marriage the best chance of succeeding over a lifetime?

For more information on CPC's wedding and marriage preparation process, click on the following links:

Testimonies from Couples...

What We Believe About Marriage...

Marriage Preparation at Ventura Community Presbyterian Church...

CPC Marriage Preparation Program: Background...

Weddings at Ventura Community Presbyterian Church...

Premarital Education Could Cut Divorce Rate, Survey Finds...

Does Premarital Education Make a Difference?