The 6 Biggest Mistakes Couples Make Before They Get Married

So, we could only talk about all the great things that come along with your wedding, or we can be realistic and prepare you with what you really need to make your marriage last… yep, we could be Pollyanna’s and walk around with rose colored glasses, but the chances that we will fall victim to the almost %60 of couples who get divorced would be way too high if we did that… Let’s be different! Let’s be part of the new generation who is actually realistic about our marriage and up for the challenge to do what it takes to make our marriage one that we can be proud of and truly enjoy. Throughout my career as a therapist and marriage planner, I have had the honor of stepping into people’s relationships and helping them to connect some dots that had been left out after the marriage. I have seen the ups and downs rights and lefts and everything in between. After all these years, I’ve pin pointed 6 very common mistakes that couples made before they got married that ultimately turned out to be the cause of their divorce. I’m going to share these mistakes with you in hopes that you will be different and have a better chance. Here’s # 1:

1. Getting Married for the WRONG reasons.

All too often do people get married for the wrong reasons. Some examples of the wrong reasons to get married are:
(A) You feel pressure from friends, family, yourself or get an ultimatum from your partner
(B) You’ve been dating for a while and it’s just time
(C) You want to have kids
(D) Comparing yourself to friends and don’t want to get old and be the only one not married
(E) You’re trying to stop partying and you think marriage will give you stability
(F) You’re arguing a lot and you think getting married will help your relationship

2. Don’t know yourself enough.

The MOST important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. If you don’t take the time to get to know you, your values, your passions, your limits and your deal breakers, how can you ever share them with your partner? One of the most important things you need to do in order to make your marriage successful is to know yourself and be able to articulate your needs and wants to your spouse in a way they understand and want to give them to you

3. Failing to discuss goals

Look, the way I see it, you can either let your marriage happen to you or you can make it happen the way you want it to by creating goals and a vision that you can both get excited about. Having goals not only provides a common passion for you to work on together as a couple, but it also adds excitement to your relationship because you now have things to look forward to.

4. Getting too blurred by the idea of the Wedding

Ok, we can’t leave out the wedding! Yes, it’s all very exciting and has it’s place in the process. Just don’t make it the only thing you think about. Make it great, but don’t let reality subside in order to get into flower and cake fantasy land. Doing that has the potential to blind you to the realities that come along with being a new wife or husband.

5. Don’t do some type of preparation and really investigate and educate themselves.

Some of the most prestigious research shows that just 12 marriage prep sessions decreases your odds of divorce by 50%.