We're Going to Be One Happy Family...Or Else!
A very unique book written by a nationally respected marriage and family therapist who has worked with couples and families for over 30 years. Learn why a mother bought 25 copies for EVERYONE in her family to get everyone on the same page during the most intense, public, family event. Learn more
Wedding Discounts for Marriage Preparation
Want to literally save hundreds on your wedding? Do good by your upcoming marriage and let vendors give you discounts for your efforts. See qualifying purchases and participating vendors!
GETTING married is cake compared to BEING married
We make time to eat, sleep and go to work. Somehow the most complex, life long relationships are assumed to magically work. We offer many options for marriage preparation for the secular, religious, the talkative personality, the laid back personality... Learn more
Wedding Vendors
Weddings & Relationships
Marriage Prep
4 part weekly class. Interactive, anonomous, online and by phone.
Wedding Dilemmas
A Modern Bride Magazine Trendsetter Award Winners’ Perspective
Parent Issues
My parents (or in-laws) want to invite people we don't know and don't have the money for. What should we do to politely tell them to stop adding people!
My mom is overbearing and it's driving me crazy. How can I tell her to back off?
My parents are divorced. One parent refuses to show up if the other brings their significant other. Help!
My parents are divorced and have not been in the same room together in 20 years. How in the world am I going to have them together for my wedding?
My parents are divorced and both are remarried. I am not close to my stepmother and barely know her kids but she insists they are invited. We don't have the room or budget to add another 20 people that I don't even know.
Couple Issues
My fiance agreed to help with wedding planning but hasn't done anything. How can I get him involved without nagging? OR My fiance agreed to do one wedding task but keeps procrastinating. Pretty soon it's going to be too late and the vendors will be booked up. Do I just do the task or keep nagging him?
My fiance was fine with the guest list so I moved forward budgeting and planning according to our final guest list. Now he says he has to invite 10 more people and doesn't understand why it's a big deal. He said he's willing to spend more of our budget but it's not just about money!
Invitations Issues
My mother-in-law wants to add more people after we already ordered the invitations! She says if it's a money issue she's willing to contribute more. It is so annoying because we have a budget, have everything organized and she now wants to add more people. How do I tell her no?
See answer to fiance question above.
My grandmother just invited more people without letting us know. How do we uninvite those people?
We have too many people on the guest list! Is it OK to have a "list A" and "list B" where as list A people RSVP they can't make it, we invite from the list B?
Someone added their children to their RSVP. Children are not allowed! How do I handle this?
Elizabeth Doherty Thomas, is a co-founder of The First Dance, along with Marriage and Family therapist father Bill Doherty. The First Dance is a 2007 Modern Bride Trendsetter award winner for taking on the complex family dynamics of wedding planning. See what engaged couples and wedding professionals are saying about our book Take Back Your wedding. Our entire website is dedicated to offering advice on working through the people stresses of wedding planning as a couple, with your families, and how to strengthen your upcoming marriage through this enormous first task of married life.