The course was refreshing. Our facilitators have been married for 36 years and they were real with us. They didn't sugarcoat any part of marriage and it was nice. FI wasn't keen on going, but I think he enjoyed most of it. I was excited to go, and ended up enjoying most of it as well. The financial management section was incredibly boring since we've done all of that together already. It was a high level review of what we already know.
First night and the first morning was talking about the phases of marriage and conflict. Things we'll run into over the first couple of years after we get married.
They then went on to talk about the ways of dealing with conflict. How to recognize what method our spouse uses and how to accept that.
Saturday afternoon was the finance part.
Sunday afternoon we talked about how our faith plays a role in the marriage and a brief overview of the Catholic beliefs. Then we ended going over the wedding ceremony. I didn't really care for this section since it was so high level and we didn't get into a lot of detail on the ceremony. I know there were some non-Catholics there, so I understood the high level approach.
I'm also aware that the ceremony is a special thing and it should really be discussed between the bride/groom and priest.
All in all it was a good weekend. FI and I learned a few little things we didn't know the other thought, and that was good. It also confirmed that we are very in synch with what we want out of life. I think we both needed to hear how hard marriage will be and that it's a struggle. If you work hard at it, the rewards are far beyond any conflict.