The best thing you can do for your relationships is submit yourself to the process of your own relational, emotional, and spiritual growth. Premarital counseling might just be your chance to start the process. If you are getting married, congratulations! Welcome to the ride of your life. Anyone and everyone heading toward “I do” would benefit from premarital counseling.

You do not know what you do not know. Often it takes a third party to open your eyes to relational dynamics you do not see. When people call me for premarital counseling, I hear various requests: Some would like to accomplish the process in four or five sessions. Others prefer eight or nine.

In general, I recommend no less than eight sessions. Ideally, though, your premarital counseling would not have a preset number of sessions. When we marry, we marry blind. It is impossible to predict and prepare for a lifetime of relationship with another person. The value of open-ended premarital counseling is you allow your relationship the time it needs to surface and be exposed. Your relationship has issues. We all do. The more time and opportunity you allow your issues to show themselves, the better prepared you and your fiancé will be for a lifetime of intimacy, growth, and love. Give yourselves the chance to see and prepare for potential pitfalls. Build a strong foundation before the big day with premarital counseling.

For further reading on the premarital counseling process, you can read a few articles I wrote here:

Trust the Process
Asking the Right Questions
Center Stage
Capture the Flag