Can’t Agree on the Ceremony

You and your fiancé just can’t agree on how the wedding ceremony will go down? It’s time to compromise, folks. It’s an important day, yes, but whatever you decide, make it a decision you’ll both be happy with or neither of you will enjoy your special day.
It’s all too easy to get “me” centered when it comes to your wedding. After all, it’s a one-time event you always want to remember, and frankly, we girls have likely dreamed about it all our lives. But you may not be able to have the fantasy wedding of your dreams. What’s realistic and within your budget and circumstances? And what’s important to your fiancé?
Talk about what’s important to each of you. Write down your top 10 desires, and then number them from 1 to 10, 1 being the most important. Then see how you can take both of your top needs and incorporate it into your wedding day.
Is an outdoor wedding important to him? Is a church wedding important to her? Is the music important to her, and the photography important to him? Don’t ignore your conflict—the problem won’t go away. Communicate and compromise, and find a balance that will make your day a memory of a lifetime for both of you.

Future In-laws and your wedding

You want your wedding to be perfect, but then there are the family issues. His parents are divorced and can’t stand each other. Her parents want to run the show—after all, they’re paying for the wedding. What’s a couple to do?
Sometimes, what should be the happiest day of your life ends up one of the most stressful, all because people can’t get along. As the bride and groom, you feel you have to dance the careful dance of not offending but not being caught in the middle.
Our advice is to decide what’s best for you two first, being careful to balance the complexities of your family situations with reality and what’s right. The Bible says to honor your father and mother, and you need to figure out how to do this without being caught up in drama that shouldn’t be happening.
If one side is just being childish and the other controlling or manipulative, well, you may have to make some tough decisions. Should you set boundaries and tell them, strongly yet respectfully, how you’d like your wedding to be? Should you have a smaller wedding and pay for it on your own so you can have the wedding you want? Try your best to find that respectful balance yet not to get pulled into other people’s control, and, if you can’t figure out how to do that, get a counselor’s or pastor’s advice. Then, create the memory you want.

Nervous?

Commitment. For many of us, committing to something for the rest of your life is a really scary thought. Spend life exclusively with one, flawed person? Really?
It's normal to get a little nervous about such a huge commitment. But sometimes that nervousness is really a hint that there might be something wrong. Listen to it. Analyze it. Ask others about it. And if there are concerns above and beyond the proverbial cold feet, maybe you should talk with a counselor or pastor about deeper issues those nerves might be pointing to.
Still, if it's just the "normal" nervousness, let's talk about commitment. In our culture, few are committed to much of anything. People move from job to job, church to church, dentist to dentist. And that's fine. But this kind of commitment is so much more than choosing things like this.
Commitment to one person is a deep and sacred choice to unconditionally love the other through all the ups and downs in life—when bills exceed income, when sickness means you have to do all the chores for a season, when extended family brings conflict or jobs are eliminated or children rebel. Knowing that the other will hold fast through all these things and more is simply the best life can bring, and in the end, little is more rewarding than that.

Why is preparing for marriage so important?

Getting married without premarital preparation is like buying a house without first having it inspected by a professional and then making sure the necessary repairs are made before you commit. Yet far too many people spend more time researching and preparing to buy a new house or car than they do preparing for marriage and getting to really know the person they’re planning to spend the rest of their lives with.
But research—and common sense—indicates that engaged couples will have stronger, more successful marriages if they participate in a premarital class, counseling or education.
In fact, a study done in 2006 found that premarital preparation actually reduces the divorce rate by a full 31% as well as help couples feel more confident that they have improved their relationship and are ready to marry. Seize the moment; seriously and thoroughly prepare for your marriage!