Plan for conflict and how you will handle it as a couple: Conflict WILL happen around the wedding or in married life and for many couples it happens in both. A great way to prepare for married life is coming up with a game plan to handle the conflict when it arises. Conflict can happen between you and your partner, you and extended family, you and in-laws etc. In handling conflict with in-laws and family members it is important for you and your partner to have a united front on the issue and both talk with the family member. This will help prevent family members from creating conflict within your relationship. To handle conflict between you and your partner develop guidelines for disagreements such as scheduling time to talk about the disagreement, not interrupting each other, understand you will not agree on everything, etc.

By keeping these ideas in mind as you prepare for married life you will be more aware of potentially bumps in the road that lie ahead and how to handle them as they come up. But just like in wedding planning not all plans go as planned and that is what keeps life interesting.

Jennifer Wilmoth, LAMFT
JWilmoth@ GROWCounseling.com