Marriage Preparation

Getting engaged is one of the most exciting seasons of your life, but beneath the wedding planning, there are real conversations that need to happen before you walk down the aisle. How will you handle finances? What does your partner really need when they're stressed? How will you navigate conflict when the honeymoon phase fades? What role will faith, family, and careers play in your marriage?

Marriage preparation at You Are More goes far beyond checking a box for your church or diocese. Annie is certified in the most trusted premarital assessment tools available, and she uses them to help you and your fiancé uncover your unique strengths, identify potential blind spots, and build practical skills for a lifetime together.

Assessment Tools Annie Offers:

SYMBIS / SYMBIS+ (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts) — A modern, research-based assessment developed by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. Each partner completes an online questionnaire, and Annie walks you through the personalized results together. SYMBIS explores your personalities as individuals and as a couple, your communication dynamics, financial attitudes, intimacy expectations, and much more. It includes over 20 customized tools and tips tailored specifically to your relationship.

PREPARE/ENRICH — One of the most widely used premarital assessment programs in the world, backed by decades of research. PREPARE helps you and your partner see a clear, unbiased picture of your relationship across key areas like communication, conflict resolution, financial management, spiritual beliefs, sexual expectations, and family dynamics. The detailed report becomes a powerful conversation guide for your sessions with Annie.

FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding, and Study) — A Catholic-friendly inventory widely used in diocesan marriage preparation programs. FOCCUS helps couples explore topics like interfaith issues, friends and family, careers, and parenting expectations in a structured, non-threatening way.

Gottman Relationship Checkup — While often used with married couples, this comprehensive 480-item assessment can also give engaged couples a research-backed snapshot of their relationship health, covering friendship, intimacy, conflict patterns, values, trust, and individual areas of concern.

Annie doesn't just hand you a report and send you on your way. She sits with you, walks through every finding, and helps you turn data into real, actionable growth for your relationship. Whether your parish requires marriage preparation or you're simply a couple who wants to start your marriage with eyes wide open, this experience will give you confidence that you're ready.