Reverend Brostrom recommends but does not require marriage counseling. If premarital counseling is requested, he desires to meet at least three times with the couple--once with each and once with both. One of the prime goals of marital counseling is to enhance the couple�s awareness of potential trouble-spots and how to communicate, utilizing effective listening, to work through their difficulties. You might say counseling focuses on the following:

What Makes A Successful Marriage

    Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created.

In the Art of Marriage:

    The little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say �I love you� at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted, the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.

    It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
 

    It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.

    It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is providing each other and atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

    Post-marital counseling is provided on a limited basis and primarily for couples married here at Gazebo Weddings. We encourage any couples we marry having marital problems to come and talk with us to help them through their difficulties. A lot of marital strife is caused by misunderstanding and unable to effectively listen to understand their mate�s point of view and needs.

For your wedding, please contact Rudy Brostrom by email or phone 803-442-WEDS or (442-9337)