October 25, 2019
There are two goals in the race to your wedding day. The first is to prepare for the ceremony. The second, and far more important, is to prepare for marriage.
They are not the same. And you need to win at both. The wedding is an event. Marriage is a lifetime. Weddings today are bigger, faster, and more complex than ever. Timelines, vendors, seating charts, playlists. It is easy to spend all your energy preparing for one day and almost none preparing for what comes after. Because here is the truth:
Every wedding aisle is paved with obstacles!
There is always a day after the wedding. The decorations come down. The guests go home. The adrenaline fades. And real life begins.
This is where many couples feel the shift. The “high” of the wedding day was never meant to last forever. And if you are not prepared for that transition, it can feel confusing, disappointing, or even discouraging.
You cannot live on the emotional high of the wedding day. You have to build something deeper.
That is why I lead what I call Marriage Boot Camp. Because engagement is not just a countdown, it is training.
In Marriage Boot Camp, we prepare you for the realities of life together:
This is not about checking a box before the wedding. This is about building a foundation for everything that comes after.
And one of the most powerful tools we use in that process is SYMBIS.
SYMBIS stands for Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.
Developed by Les Parrott and Leslie Parrott, it is one of the most trusted premarital and marital assessments available. But it is more than a questionnaire.
It is a guided discovery process that helps you understand:
SYMBIS does not just ask questions. It reveals what is underneath the answers.
The result is a personalized roadmap for your relationship.
I heard a story once about a kayaking instructor. To learn kayaking, he had to teach students how to handle certain situations if they were in distress, such as if the boat flipped over, or if the worst came to worst, they had to be rescued. The instructor would say, "Participate in your own rescue." Wise words on the water and wise words for couples. Participating in or planning for your rescue ensures that your marriage does not capsize. SYMBIS helps you be the rescuer, the lifeguard of your marriage, even before it is in trouble. That is exactly what SYMBIS helps couples do.
Strong marriages are not rescued by accident. They are built on purpose!
SYMBIS allows you to identify potential challenges before they become real problems. It equips you with language, awareness, and strategy. You become proactive instead of reactive.
Here is how we use SYMBIS inside Marriage Boot Camp:
These sessions are where the real work happens. Not surface-level conversations, but meaningful, honest, practical dialogue.
The goal is not information. The goal is transformation.
This is where SYMBIS shines the most. It helps you prepare for marriage before it begins.
Whether you have been married one year or twenty, SYMBIS can serve as a reset, a realignment, or a deeper understanding of each other.
It is never too early or too late to strengthen your marriage.
Even if I am not performing your ceremony, you can still go through Marriage Boot Camp and the SYMBIS process with me.
We can complete everything virtually. Distance is not a barrier. We can serve couples literally anywhere in the world.
For Wedding Chaplain couples, SYMBIS is not required, but it is strongly recommended.
Most couples complete the process in three to four sessions, integrated into or alongside Marriage Boot Camp.
You will spend months planning your wedding day. You will spend your life in your marriage. So the question is simple: Where are you putting your energy? Do not just prepare for the aisle. Prepare for everything that comes after it. Marriage Boot Camp is designed to help you do exactly that. And SYMBIS is one of the most powerful tools we have to get you there.
If you are interested in going through Marriage Boot Camp and the SYMBIS process, I would love to walk with you through it. Reach out, and we will take the next step together.
