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What’s next?
If you have completed The Marriage Course, it is important that, as a couple, you continue to put into practice what you've learned to help keep your marriage strong and healthy. Here are some of the things we suggest to support continued investment in your marriage.
Date night
Date night is about spending quality time together as a couple. This is especially challenging with busy lifestyles and children, yet couples find it incredibly valuable for the long-term health of their relationship.
One suggestion is to create a “date night jar”. Take a jar or basket and fill it with slips of paper containing different ideas for dates – you can look at the list of ideas below as a starting point. Choose three colours of paper based on whether the activity is free, low cost or higher cost with planning required. The next time you’re stuck for ideas, pull a piece of paper based on how much time and finances you have available. (We've also seen this idea done with painted popsicle sticks – be creative!)
There are many activities you can plan together that don’t cost the earth: cooking a meal together, going for a long walk, sharing a bath or enjoying a games night with your favourite boardgames. You can also plan ahead by booking a trip to the theatre or a night away at a bed and breakfast.
These are some of our favourite date ideas to get your imagination flowing – they range from free and easy-to-do at home, to ideas that are a little more costly and may require planning:
Free or low-cost ideas
- Share a bath
- DVD movie of her (or his) choice
- Make a meal together – try something you haven’t made before
- Game night – childhood boardgames, chess or playing cards
- Go for a walk along a river, at the beach, or in a park
- Sit outside and watch the sunset
- Turn on the radio and dance
- Give each other a massage
- Start watching a series together and commit to watch every episode together – no cheating!
Inexpensive and require little or no planning
- Desert-only date
- Coffee date
- Bowling
- Go to a pick-your-own farm
- Visit a museum
- Picnic in the park
- Make pottery
- Cinema night
- Enjoy a takeaway meal by candlelight
High cost and require planning
- See a play, musical or concert
- Go away for a night in a B&B or hotel
- Go to a spa for the day
- Book a romantic dinner in an iconic location
- Go on a course to learn something new together i.e. a sport, painting, a new language, pottery, dance…
- Surprise your partner by taking them to see their favourite band or sports team play live
Professional counselling
Sometimes couples require additional help. As a first step, we recommend you ask your course leader for a referral. They can often recommend someone suited to your needs and based near you. Here are some national agencies you may wish to approach.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Association of Christian Counselling
The UKCouncil for Psychotherapy
Try our other courses
If you’ve enjoyed The Pre-Marriage Course orThe Marriage Course, you may want to join some of the other courses that our organisation offers.
