Many people ask: Where do I get started?  The answer is simple – decide that you want to be married.  If you are planning a wedding, you are planning a celebration of the start of your forever.  Let’s face it: weddings are fun.  It’s a chance to be the center of attention, to get showered with adoration and gifts, and to revel in the frivolity that only weddings provide.  The wedding isn’t the hard part – it’s the being married.  The divorce rate in this country is staggering.  I do not truly believe that half of all marriages start not believing they will last forever (except in Vegas where I would wager more than half).  Sometimes, things don’t work out.  I encourage you to seriously consider not only your relationship, but also yourself.  Are you the kind of person that can be married?  Do you want to be a husband or wife to this person?  Do you have the stamina to make a forever commitment?  If you are asking yourself, “how long is that?” you may have an issue.  The bond of matrimony should not be entered into lightly.  It’s not an appointment on your life calendar or a check box on your “someday” to do list.  It’s not the first logical step of your downward shame cycle that will end with you shaving your head and going to rehab.  Being married (the part after the wedding) is the rest of your life.  It is how you make decisions.  It is being part of something more than what you are as an individual.  Saying “I do” is just the first step. After that, there’s only forever to go.

Are you ready?