Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?
Amos 3:3

Some years ago, while living in Los Angeles, we were walking along Santa Monica Beach when we couldn’t believe our eyes.

A man wearing a shiny suit of armor and riding a white horse was galloping along the shore until he spied his girlfriend who was sunbathing with a few girlfriends.

The rider hopped off his horse, knelt on one knee, and asked for her hand in marriage. People on the crowded beach erupted with applause when she said yes.

There’s something about a marriage proposal that grabs everybody’s attention.

In our university marriage class we often conclude our lectures with a guest interview of a seasoned married couple. Invariably, a student will ask: “How did you propose?”

We’ve heard countless proposal stories through the years, but they still intrigue us.

The most recent was captured on video. It’s two of our students at Seattle Pacific University and it involves a cleaver treasure hunt. You may want to take a look. It’s included at the end of this post.

One advantage of marriage is that, when you fall out of love with him or he falls out of love with you,
it keeps you together until you fall in again.
–Judith Viorst

About 2.3 million couples get married each year in the U.S. That breaks down to nearly 6,200 weddings a day. And do you know the average wedding budget? It’s $20,000 (plus rings and a honeymoon!). To say a LOT of time and money goes into a wedding is a major understatement.

Since June is the most popular a month for weddings (and our mailbox is bursting with invitations) we have a proposal we hope you’ll share with any engaged couple you might know: That they prepare for their marriage more than they’re preparing for their wedding.

Reflect and Respond

If you could give one word of unique advice to an engaged couple – in a single sentence – what would it be?

Go ahead, tell us in the comments.

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Related Resource

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Meeting the needs of a generation overwhelmed by divorce odds, this bundle presents seven key questions to help couples identify and overcome stumbling blocks to a building a healthy, lifelong marriage.

Bundle includes one Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts book, one Workbook for Women, one Workbook for Men, and one Getting Ready For The Wedding book.