Marriage Retreats -
Are They For YOU?

Been to a Marriage Conference?
Review it HERE!

If you're wondering what marriage retreats are all about, and whether going on one would be beneficial for your marriage, take it from someone who's been on one... me! Here are the basics you need to know:

Who: For married couples... obviously!! :) They are put on by numerous organizations, and are "staffed" by professional counsellors and/or trained volunteers.

What: Marriage retreats are short conferences that give you time to reconnect as a couple and improve parts of your marriage that may need some work.

When: Marriage conferences usually take one weekend, although some can be 3-4 days, or even up to 7 days. The one we attended went from a Friday evening until Sunday evening... 2 full days. They are held worldwide on various weekends throughout the year.

Where: Marriage conferences are most commonly held in nice hotels. The actual conference part is held in the hotel meeting rooms, and you then break out with your spouse to your hotel room to discuss different topics. Meals at the hotel are usually included too, which is nice!

Why: To strengthen your marriage and work on any tough spots.

Extra Info: Marriage retreats are NOT group therapy sessions. In other words, the other couples attending the retreat do not get to find out your personal business.

Most marriage conferences do also not offer one-on-one counseling for couples. All advice is given in a lecture-style format which all the couples attending the retreat listen to together.

A Marriage Retreat Would
Be Good For You IF:

• You and your spouse don't have time to connect regularly because you both have busy schedules or you are super busy with raising kids.
  
  
• You have issues that you need to talk through that haven't been resolved in quite some time.
  
  
• You have been married for several years and your relationship needs a little "freshening up."
  
  
• You really want to make an effort to strengthen your marriage and take it from good to great!
  
  
  

A Marriage Retreat Would
NOT Be Good For You IF:

• You just want to get away to relax together; marriage conferences are NOT relaxing... on the contrary, they have a very full schedule and attendance at all sessions is usually required. We didn't even get a chance to use the pool or have sex... that's how busy it was!
  

  

• You have to work on Monday morning. Seeing as marriage conferences are SO busy, if you arrive on a Friday evening straight from work, and stay until Sunday evening and need to be at work again the next morning, you will be exhausted and feel like you "missed" your weekend. Plan to take a few days off for a vacation after your retreat for it to be really beneficial.
  
  
• You haven't been married for very long. Usually one year of marriage is the recommended minimum for attending marriage conferences, but although we'd been married for about 20 months at the time, we found that a lot of the information didn't really apply to us as much as it did to the older couples at our retreat.
  
  
• You want to meet other couples your age and socialize with them. Marriage conferences are a time to focus ONLY on your marriage and your spouse, so casually chatting with other couples is a bit "frowned-upon."
  
  

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