Dating is like being on a tropical island. Everyone leaves you alone. You get to spend insane amounts of time together. You are truly in a bubble.

Then you get engaged, which we call The Hour of Bliss. The moment you say "yes", you have created in-laws and have begun the extremely complicated process of joining two families.

Your tropical island life is over whether you're ready or not!

Having grown up as the daughter of a famous family therapist father, I found myself in a strange new world when I became engaged. After deciding to use myself as an experiment on how to avoid the wedding industry and instead have an “intentional” engagement, I quickly realized that wedding planning offered tremendous opportunities to learn about relationships, marriage, and family life.

I experienced drama myself and read thousands of internet posts from brides who were overwhelmed by the interpersonal stresses of weddings–such as divorced parents, difficult mothers in law, who to invite, and unsupportive friends—and invited my marriage and family therapist father to help uncover the family systems principles behind these stories. Out of these father-daughter conversations came a book and website to help engaged couples where they are—planning a wedding with their loved ones.

Find me on Twitter at @TheFirstDance and check out the large website, The First Dance that offers many ways to get marriage preparation (counselors or DIY) AND sound wedding advice.

Find more marriage advice here.

The Reason I Became A Helping Professional

For anyone who is engaged it quickly becomes obvious there are wedding professionals and relationship experts. It's extremely hard to find the combination. That's where I come in - blending the two in a way that makes you feel understood, normal, and help you with concrete suggestions on how to, say, get your groom to participate in decisions around the Wedding registry without putting down your registry or blasting you with communication skill building.

I've been in the marriage education and marriage therapy field since 2005. Now that my children are getting a bit older I'm ready to tackle the actual work of helping couples, individuals, and families. I'm excited to be entering graduate school fall 2011 to get my marriage and family therapy license.

Elizabeth Doherty Thomas

Additional Details

I am:

Married

Religious affiliation:

Other

Have children:

Yes

Elizabeth Doherty Thomas

Payment Options

Accepts Credit Cards:

Yes

Accepts Insurance:

No

Accepts Paypal:

Yes

Sliding Scale:

No

Fee Range:

Determined case-by-case, please inquire