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attend the Engaged Encounter weekend at the St. Josaphat Retreat House (Glen Cove) on November 2-4? If you plan on going let me know.
Continued success to all...
I thought you might appreciate some perspective from someone who did participate in an 'away' weekend of Engaged Encounter (not the same location that you are going to).
To be blunt, do not think of the weekend as a social opportunity. It is not intended for you to make new friends. It is completely focused on you and your fiance, and the issues that you may encounter in your marriage.
I will caution that you will only get out of the weekend, what you both put into it. That said, prepare to experience a full range of emotions with your husband-to-be. There will plenty of laughs to share, of course. But, don't expect to agree on everything. This weekend teaches couples to learn how to compromise.
Personally, my husband and I found the weekend to be one of the most rewarding and emotionally challenging experiences in our relationship. When it was over, we were both relieved and disappointed. Rarely will we ever have that kind of opportunity - to shut the rest of the world out, and truly focus all our energy on our love and committment to one another. Cherish this opportunity and use it to the fullest - you will be so happy that you did.
Best of luck, and much happiness to you!
We went to the Engaged Encounter at St. Josephat's in July. I completely agree with the comments from MiniBride. I was apprehensive about being there at first, but looking back it was VERY beneficial. Good luck.
Thank you both for sharing your advice/experiences with me. To tell you the truth, I'm nervous about going. My fiance and I have been together for over eight years, and we know each other very well, but there's always something that you don't know. We have already had many heated conversations on our own about expectations for each other once we are married.
My questions are about the program itself, do I need to bring anything with me? Where do we stay? Are there married couples there to participate? What was the weekend like- do you have a schedule?
Thank you so much for your help.
Continued success to all...
I was very apprehensive when we drove up to the place, uncertain what to expect, especially since I am not very religous. My FI and I have been together for 7 years and I wasn't sure what we were going to get out of this. Basically, it is very structured. It is run by married couples. They discuss a topic and add their own experiences. Then they give you a list of questions and you have time to write a letter answering those questions. You and your FI then read each other's answer and discuss them. It is very private and really comes down to you'll get out what you put in. I wasn't a real team player at first, but then I realized I just might get something out of this experience. I am really glad I did. We had some very interesting conversations and I can honestly say I learned something.
If you are going to the engaged encounter weekend, you will need to bring comfortable clothes, towel, and you may want to bring your own pillow. We went to St. Josephat's and everyone had a roomate. Not really a big deal, you are never in your room. You may want to bring some snacks. They have a sharing table of all the food.
It is pretty structured but the weekend does go fast. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or want to chat further about it [email protected]. Good luck. -Faith
