Gavin & Niamh O’Donnell

I and my Fiancé have just completed the online Avalon pre-marriage preparation course and I just wanted to thank you and say what a positive experience it has been. We were both so pleasantly surprised with how relevant, modern and comprehensive the course content was- not what we were expecting at all! 

I had reservations at first about how meaningful it would be to complete an online pre-marriage course but now I actually feel it provoked a truly in-depth discussion between us as we worked through each section at our own convenience and took our time to chat about the various reflections that arose from each. The "his & her" workbooks were fantastic conversation starters! 

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Jennifer Swail & Daniel Nixon

After completing the Mr and Mrs Quiz we were pleased to score 11 points and we learned we knew quite a bit about each other. We learned that loyalty and feeling comfortable with each other were some of the key reasons we decided on marriage as the next natural step.

We both learned that the main reason for us getting married was that we were bet tochange either person because ater as a team than as individuals. We realise that while we both have negative points and that we recognise this in each other we are prepared to take the rough with the smooth as we know that no-one is perfect.

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Garrett & Paula

I think we learnt quite a bit from the program. First and foremost, we learnt that we seem to be well suited to each other. There were no major surprises when we compared our answers for the different exercises and we both got good scores for each other on the first exercise. One thing that come out of the first exercise is that it both made us think a bit more about what we'd like to achieve in life so we learnt something ourselves and about each other.

Aside from that, we both learnt a bit more about our respective families that we didn't know before. We learnt that we probably need to bring a bit more romance back into the relationship (we've been together for almost 10 years) so we both agreed to make more of an effort in this area, particularly after we're married. 

Learning about the 'good' way to have an argument (start of quietly, know the outcome, etc.) was good. We rarely argue as we're both quite passive and easy going and good at talking things through but perhaps on the rare occasions we disagree knowing a 'good' way to argue is a useful tool. Also, the 5 good interactions for every bad interaction is a good thing to aim for.

Overall though, I think we were happy with how we got on. We think communication is key and we do communicate very well with each other. We have dinner almost every night at the table and leave our phones/tablets to the side, so getting each other’s undivided attention is very easy.

Kind regards,

Garrett & Paula

Emma & john 

We both learned that marriage is a partnership that will always need work, arguments are not always a bad thing and we can indeed have good arguments. Suppose we always worried that any arguments were bad but the DVD helped us show a lot of people do! 

It highlighted the importance if the three main areas couples struggle, finance, power and communication. 

It showed us genuinely that we are working well on these parts. Financial situations and power are very equally shared out amount us. We are sensible "clever planners" so thankfully the money areas of our relationship. We really work well as a team and share power, in the last page of the workbook we picked 8 of the same!! 

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Jennifer P. von Ruden

We found this to be very beneficial.

It covered topics thoroughly, and offered some extremely helpful tips and stats from professionals. They did an awesome job of covering conflict as well as trying to get your partners attention. They emphasize how it’s important to realize that no one is perfect and to stay mature.

Also in marriage it is easy to blame your partner for issues you might be encountering together, but it’s extremely interesting to hear the psychiatrist say that most people’s marital issues stem from issues they had as children.

Also it’s important to note that people tend to find spouses that are most like their parents, (both good and bad traits!). With that said, couples must be careful to make sure we aren’t focusing on the negative traits and focus on how we can improve that aspect within our current relationship.

Parents who criticize or push to overachieve leave kids with general anxiety, and can make them feel the need to overachieve in life, or think that things aren’t good enough. We feel this was a very important element.

The last video was interesting. We learned how families (in-laws) can affect your relationship with your partner and your kids. Although we are newly engaged, it’s extremely important element to emphasize and hone in on BEFORE we have children. This was a beneficial course, and loved the variety of content.
Thank you!

Jennifer P. von Ruden

Kayla and Justin

We both learned that marriage is many things. Marriage is about compromise and putting your partner's needs ahead of yours.

Marriage is seeing your partner as an equal and making sure that each of you has a say in what is happening in your lives. Marriage is not always going to be a picnic but you need to move through the rough times as partners. When it comes to conflict make sure that you are not saying always or never and you are not bringing up past arguments. Also, know that you need to put yourself in your partner’s shoes.

Your partner may not be in a positive mood because of something that happened at work or in their day. There are many things that also affect our marriage. For example our family and having kids. Through this all we need to always remember our love for one another and that we are both committed to our wonderful lives together. 

From the very first four pages there were things we did not know about each other. We really liked that because even though we have been together for 7 years it was something new that we were learning about each other. We enjoyed the exercise in which we listed reasons we are getting married other than love. It was a challenging experience in which we highlighted our similar values, life goals and compatibility.

We also liked the deserted island exercise. It really showed us that although we picked and ranked mostly the same objects, there were a few that we talked about and got each other's perspective on. Lastly, we liked watching the additional video because it talked about how God ties into our relationship.  Our marriage is about commitment just like God is committed to us.  

These exercises and videos had us talking about things that have not been said before. We talked about our parent’s relationships and our own relationships. We talked about our goals and our needs from each other. Overall, we really did learn more about each other and what our future had in store for us as a married couple. 

Thank you for emailing us back! We really appreciate it! 

Kayla and Justin