Our pre wedding course

No, we did not take a course nor are we going to. Jeremy comes from a Catholic background, while little ol' me is non denominational. It wasn't hard for us to agree that a non-denominational spiritually driven ceremony was right up our alley.

To give you some background, Rick's son Tim used to play baseball with my brother. Rick and Dad coached for a bit, then retreated to the sidelines, lounging in the lawnchairs like (as mom says) the grumpy men in the muppet show. At age 40, Rick decided he wanted to be a Pastor.



We met with Rick months back at his church in Stoneycreek. It seemed everyone there knew we weren't part of the congregation and reached out to say "hello". They offered us coffee (yes please), and we went to sit down at a round table to the right of the stage with Rick and his wife Ellen. The service kicked off with a Christian rockband playing 3 rock hymns, had references of the Princess Bride (with a video clip) and ended with Jeremy and I heading back to Rick and Ellen's place for Chilli. m'm m'm

In lieu of attending a wedding course, Rick recommended 2 books for us to read:

The first one, being "Making Love Last Forever" by Gary Smalley



Now, I must be honest. While I did get the book, I downloaded it on audio.com. I listened to it in one drive and thought it was great. Balancing every componant of your life? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT (haha)

Taken from Barnes and Nobel: "Best-selling author and relationship expert Gary Smalley presents three of his time-tested favorites in one quintessential volume. In Love is a Decision Smalley outlines practical techniques for keeping your marriage alive, and in Making Love Last Forever he reveals the proven secrets behind his love guarantee. In The Key to Your Child's Heart, Smalley offers simple principles and workable ideas for raising confident and responsible children while maintaining a close-knit family."

I give this, 2 thumbs up.

Book number 2, The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples, by Larry Burkett.



I'm about half way through this, and ignore the fact it's 19 years old, it's quite good. Hmm, have a budget, spend less, be happier!! Sign me up!!

Barnes and Nobel summarizes it as "This book provides young married couples with a wealth of biblical and commonsense advice for building a solid financial foundation. He also focuses on common financial pitfalls."

In my opinion, these books are books all officiants should recommend couples to read. Sure I've lived with Jer for 2.5 years, but the common sense of these 2 books are the kick in the arse we both need.

Go pick them up through amazon!! Married, single, who cares!! These are great reads for everyone.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Financial-Guide-Young-Couples/dp/1564761304
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Love-Last-Forever-Smalley/dp/0849940869/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220499095&sr=1-1