June 25^th Matthew and Emma – Halifax-Yarmouth, Nova Scotia  “I appreciated the responses, they were helpful to us.”

Him:It was interesting for us. we are in the process of growing in/out faith together so some of the biblical questions we found challenging. but we spent that time doing research and calling the in-laws for discussions as well.
Her: We enjoyed it and found it helpful in general. Some of the questions we found very philosophical which weren’t always applicable we found to marriage prep but many of the questions did spark discussions which was helpful.
Both:We've always been very open with each other but this course has sparked some conversations we have never had before and without the course might have never had. It will definitely help our marriage process and we are so so thankful and grateful for this opportunity.

June 26^th John and Bridget – Colorado Springs, CO “I loved writing the love letters!”

Him:It was so great to do this at our own convenience and also really made us talk and reflect together which was so great!
Her:It was so fun and meaningful. We talked about tons of important things. It was so great that we could do it on our own schedule.
Both:We had to talk about everything! And it opened the door to talk about more!

June 18^th Brandon and Laura – Lafayette, LA“It made me realize that I still have growing to do in my faith and it gave me new insight on how to  continue to grow.”

Him:I thoroughly enjoyed being able to directly correspond with the same two individuals regarding our progress. Being able to look at their feedback on our work allowed us to build a comfort level with them and really express our thoughts and get into getting in touch with God during this preparation. I am so happy that our paths crossed and I can't wait to share with them in the future our progress in our faithful marriage.
Her: Considering our hectic work schedules, using this method was our best option to prepare for our marriage; but, honestly, I am so thankful that we were able to work with [our instructors]! They broke down into so much detail the ups and downs, the difficulties and triumphs, the hardships and the accomplishments that our marriage could bring. They were so patient with us and really allowed us to absorb every part of this preparation; and, I know, that had we not worked with them, we would not have gained as much from this experience as we did. I am so grateful that we were able to work with them and have now developed a forever bond with them.
Both:We had to really sit down and work through these worksheets and focus on the questions we were being asked. It wasn't a right or wrong response, but it was finding the right answers for our relationship. There were some thought provoking topics that were brushed on and it gave each of us an opportunity to take the lead. Laura knows quite a bit more about the historical side of the Catholic faith and where I lacked in that area, I was able to give my insights and point of view when talking about some of the real-life situations. This process showed each of us our strengths and areas of weakness, which can often be difficult to reveal to others; but, it made sharing those shortcomings so much easier because we were on the same page the whole time and had guidance from some pretty professional teachers if we weren't sure how to get on the same page.

June 19^th Jim and Nicole – Kalamazoo, MI “Everything that was laid out in the modules and being able to have this quality time with my future husband helped revive me.”

Him:I loved it. Not only did I learn a lot, but it gave me a lot to think about. I think we will both be revisiting some of these pages in the future. I really appreciate your detailed feedback. It's hard to say what I appreciated most.  I really liked the part about discussing religion with people that may not be religious, or may have a different religion.  I really liked that this got me and Nicole to talk about some things that we may not have every really discussed had we not taken the course.  We both agree that this course was fantastic for us and we really appreciate that you guys took the time to provide such detailed feedback.
Her:I really loved this course. I learned so much and looked forward to the modules as they came along. I really appreciated the feedback we received with each assignment and having [our instructors] share their personal experiences. I'm so glad we took this course!I appreciated the education about the church and the importance of everything as a Catholic/Christian, especially in marriage and relationships. I appreciate that "touchy" subjects such as abortion, birth control, etc were discussed and that there were videos supporting everyone’s right to an opinion, but not necessarily making something right.
Both:It brought up a ton of subjects that we discussed in depth. We were able to discuss each other's short-comings, as well as our own, and how to improve.

June 4^th John and Erin – Toledo, OH“This experience made me more interested in the catholic beliefs and made me draw closer to God throughout this journey.”

Him:This class allowed Erin and I to connect to each other on a differently level and begin to talk about our incorporation of God into our daily routines. As well as, draw closer together by drawing closer to God.We appreciated that we could do this course at our own pace and was not rushed to answer the questions which allowed us to discuss in more detail everything.
Her: This class allowed me to learn more about the catholic faith and better understand the commitment that marriage is. I think this experience not only brought us closer together as a couple, but closer to God.I appreciated the course because our instructors were gracious enough to allow us two extensions due to our busy schedules. This allowed us to focus more on the questions and really dive deep into the material and God's word; rather than merely scraping the top of the information. It allowed us to really connect to each other and to God.
Both:It allowed us to be more open with one another and really discuss the matters that in a marriage can lead to divorce.

June 5^th Peter and Julie – Anchorage, AK “It opened  a lot of discussions in the comforts of our home without others around.”

Him:This course may have been the beginning of many discussions of faith within our house. By being allowed to take this course in our home it instigated many discussions of faith and religion on our home turf. I enjoyed being able to share my faith with Julie on a daily level. Showing her how much it means to me everyday, not just Sunday.
Her:Love the flexibility of an online course, especially with a very young daughter that would not allow for a weekend retreat. An online version allowed for a lot of great conversations within our home. I enjoyed to insight and meaning behind why things are done in the Catholic faith. It seems too often things are done just "because". Now I have gained history and meaning behind the traditions.
Both: I enjoyed learning about the catholic faith in a way that allowed us to learn from each other. This enable us to dig deeper into the readings (because we had to read them together a few times to get the full meaning and understand them.)

May 21^st John and Angela – Denver, CO“It surpassed my expectations-We feel stronger as a couple and that we are truly prepared and ready to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony.”

Him:It brought up a lot of important topics for us to talk about and think about; some that we have discussed before but not in great detail and some things we haven't thought of at all. It really made us want to be more active in the Church and have God a daily part of our lives as we enter this new and exciting chapter in our life and many chapters to come!
Her: It was a very lengthy prep but it really forced us to sit down and be true to ourselves and each other and promoted a lot of open conversations throughout this preparation. I feel as if there are no skeletons in the closet or hidden feelings on various life/marriage topics. This course brought up a lot of good points and examples of how having a strong relationship with God personally and in one's marriage will help strengthen our marriage and lead us to the end goal of getting each other to heaven.
Both:It covered so many important topics in life as a married couple; it helped us to realize what we needed work on and what we were already on the same page on; we feel we have a clear and common goal together as a couple!

May 22^nd Corey and Tierney – Allentown, PA “I believe that this course did revive both mine and Tierney's faith.”

Him:I truly believe that we learned a great deal of information that will be very beneficial throughout our marriage and lives. Even though we both attended Catholic school for many years, there were a number of concepts that were new to us - primarily because marriage was never a major topic in our early education. Regardless, it was very helpful and good for us to do together and discuss the topics.
Her:I will admit that my conception of marriage preparation was centered around the idea of an in-person class and did not know what to expect for an online course. Needless to say, having formerly been a teacher I was very impressed on the various means of information communication and reinforcement of concepts that we built upon throughout the assignments. I appreciated that the resources were varied from video, text and talking and that we were prompted to discuss. I did not expect the level of feedback and support [our instructors] offered which really encouraged Corey and I to invest in our assignments and preparation.
Both:I think that every couple believes they have good communication skills, until they are presented with something that is unfamiliar, or uncomfortable for them to discuss. Thus this course, in prompting us to think about how we treat and honor each other, about obedience, discipline, faith, God's will, challenges, fidelity and sinning, we both strengthened our communication skills as we revealed more of our most personal feelings, emotions and relationship with God moving forward and enabling us to continue to improve our communication. We have prayed together through this course and continue to make this habit a part of our family tradition.

May 7^th Luke and Emily – Indiana, IN “It helped to introduce topics and discussions I did not think of before.”

Him:I was really impressed with the overall flow of the class. It really helped me get out of my comfort zone when talking certain religious aspects of my life. Yes, it really made me consider how important your faith is to a successful marriage.
Her: Overall, I really enjoyed the classes and felt as though they provided us with a new channel of communication. It allowed for us to better understand a marriage and the religious beliefs we share. Yes this course did revive my faith. It made me think of things that I had not thought of before. Through the use of bible versus, I was also able to connect closer with what they mean.
Both:It opened up a new channel of communication. We worked together to talk and walk through the courses.

May 8^th Chris and Alessia – Washington D.C. “This course further ignited our desire to get closer to God and His Church.”

Him:This course was packed with essential content needed for not only marriage, but basic Catholic fundamentals. To think that people go into marriage without this information is very frightening. I very much appreciated the "His & Her" responses, as well as the personalized love letters! This course met my expectations, even going as far as exceeding them. The concept of paying money for a course wasn't appealing to me at first, but now I know the price of this content is immeasurable. I feel much more comfortable now going into marriage with the content of this course in my "tool bag."
Her:This course was incredible! Very thorough, educational, useful, and inspiring. Mike and Lisa are great-such an amazing couple and fantastic role models. I learned so much in this course, and my relationship with God and with Chris has greatly deepened. It definitely exceeded my expectations! I was honestly a little worried before we started that this course wouldn't be as impactful as it might be in person, but it was impactful and more!
Both: The whole process of filling out these worksheets out, finding the time, compromising, discussing, definitely improved our communication skills. Having a common goal in our period of engagement has allowed us to get some feel of what our marriage will be like. Our favorite part of this course that applies to communication, was the active listening article, and the tools it mentioned. This provided a deeper perspective to what communication consists of, by identifying specific components of how it harmonizes with two persons.

April 2^nd Kevin and Jennifer – Sacramento, CA“It got me to start thinking about certain things about my faith that normally I would not focus on.”

Him:It was a good opportunity to hear another perspective of religion, life and marriage other than our families' perspective. This is the most amount of verses I have read in the Bible. The class successfully got me to talk about religion and married life which is usually not something I openly discuss.
Her: I think the course was great. It gave us an opportunity to learn more about the Catholic Church as well as learn more about each other. It allowed us to spend more time together on emotional level. It revived my desire to get closer to God and His Church. This course gave me an opportunity to reconnect with what I learned at a younger age and deepen the depth of my faith.
Both:It taught us to listen more and not jump to conclusions. It taught us a new technique- the I-Message.

April 3^rd Anthony and Emma – Indianapolis, IN “It's invigorated me to continue learning and praying.”

Him:Really awesome!! It really takes a deep dive into why we marry as Catholics and how to be a great spouse. I loved the questions and answers. The responses were always very informative and understandable. The instructors were fantastic. I love learning more and more about our faith. At first it can seem overwhelming the things that need to be done by the wedding day. So I started to feel bogged down by the "task" of doing the marriage prep but it immediately became an inspiring/informing lesson when it began. It inspires me to be the best version I can be for Emma and those around me.
Her:Super great at giving the proper amount of guidance and giving the specific education needed for our marriage! The course definitely met the expectations I had. It's been a great online class and resource for us.
Both: It brought important church teachings up that we discuss continually on how beautiful and truthful it is. We have set aside time to pray every day and we've set some important goals for our lives.

March 19^th Cristhian and Jessica – San Diego, CA“I loved that it was able to be individualized at our discretion because we have already many conversations on a lot of the topics presented”

Him:I was amazed by the depth of the answers and feedback provided after every assignment was completed. Also, the quickness in the response was very convenient for us, we felt always ready and capable of going through this course at our own pace - and we learned so much from the content provided along the way.
Her: This was a very convenient way for Cristhian and I to complete our marriage prep, and we were very comfortable having one-on-one discussions using the thorough and thought-provoking prompts.
Both:By coming up with joint answers it helped us to be on the same page, and it was also helpful to be very thorough about these discussions.

March 20^th Thierry and Courtney – Denver, CO “As future catholic, it definitely gave me more insight into what I have learned at school and from church.”

Him:I had not been very actively practicing. This brought me to want to be more active and talk to God more through prayer, now I have Courtney to share this with me.I liked that it helped us get engaged and openly discuss issues.
Her:It was great, my favorite part was when we took a pause and told each other how we felt. We were able to discuss potential issues, things that was in the back of our minds but was never brought up. I believe that not only our faith is strong as ever, we are even closer partners. And it was fun!
Both:It made us engaged, think deeper about subjects and what we both want and share our thoughts freely, whether they were similar or different. We were able to clearly find solutions for our differences.

March 12^th Jared and Jenna – New York, NY“The truth is that this course gave us a more in-depth knowledge of each others thoughts and goals for marriage.”

Him:This entire process has brought up topics that we have been mildly concerned with and gave us the opportunity to discuss and put goals in place to help alleviate the issues.
Her: The course gave us a lot to think about as a couple and start making decisions on how to continue together as a married couple. It really gave a lot of insight into what marriage should be- which was refreshing because we live in a culture of false expectations and labeling around marriage.
Both:It allowed us to be more open and brought up topics out of the comfort zone. It "forced us" to be honest about our discussions.

March 13^th Michael and Beth – Colorado Springs, CO “I think there was a lot of good information about the Church's teachings and challenging us to analyze different faith-based values.”

Him:This course did meet my expectations in that I learned more about the Catholic Church and their teachings.I think that this course was done well for being online, it was a good experience overall and I am glad we did it. The course was good insight for me to learn more about the religion.
Her:I enjoyed the class, it was very convenient that we were able to complete the course online and at our own pace. I appreciated most being able to read his individual responses and being able to have meaningful discussions on our expectations for the future.
Both:Overall, we really did enjoy the course and appreciate all the feedback!

March 5^th Taylor and Kristen – St. Joseph, MO“I think it opened my eyes to the fact that Faith can be more of a part of marriage”

Him:It was nice that we had the opportunity to complete the course online. It fit best within Kristen and my lifestyle. [our instructors] were very prompt with their feedback. They were also very encouraging, and their feedback helped us look at some topics in a light we would have otherwise missed out on.
Her: I think we both benefited from the process greatly! It gave us really helpful prompts and questions to spark meaningful conversations that have made our relationship stronger through our Faith. Being that we were able to complete the course online, I think it allowed Taylor to be more open with his communication, rather than if we would have been in a group setting.
Both:…The fact that we were able to complete this course online greatly impacted our depth of communication. We were able to circle back to topics on subsequent days if we needed to. Taylor was able to be more open and free with his opinions and perspectives on parts of each section. Also, it allowed us to complete it on nights, via the telephone, even when we were not actually able to be together for whatever reason. 

March 6^th Mitchell and Courtney – Colorado Springs, CO “We learned a lot and our faith has grown so much deeper and stronger”

Him:This course started great conversation and bring us closer as we prepare for our wedding. It has helped me grow in my faith and learn more about my future spouses better. This course sets a great foundation for a lasting marriage.
Her:I learned a lot about my future spouse through this course and we definitely grew closer as a couple and within our faith. Through this class, marriage has become more than just a ceremony and party, it has become a blessing and Christ has become a focal point in our preparation and discussion of our future. It really has worked for us.
Both:It gave us the ability to talk about our faith more in depth and to discuss what we want from this marriage and life and it gave us more of a perspective of learning to listen to one another. It allowed us more time to open up and discuss certain topics more than we have in the past and find ways to problem solve together and work together as a couple and to support each other. It was definitely a great conversation about NFP and how to plan for a family and children in the best way for them but also for us as a couple.

February 26^th Long and Huyen – Tulsa, OK“This course definitely helps me to prepare for what lies ahead as we embark on this forever journey together with the blessing of God and the Church”

Him:We liked the different lessons and how personalized they actually were. When we first signed up for the class, we didn't have a very high expectation because of the fact that it is online but [our instructors] did a very good job of making every answer sheet personal and detailed to who we are as a couple.
Her: I really like a class. It gave me a better understanding of what it means to being married in the Catholic faith. Having a couple of the same ethnic background who understands what we are going through definitely helps.
Both:We have a deeper spiritual connection now vs. before taking the course. We can communicate our thoughts and feelings to each other more freely and respectfully.

Febuary 27^th Angel and Camille – San Francisco, CA “This course gave us more to think about and discuss in our daily lives and really set a foundation for each of us to continue practicing our faith”

Him:The prep was a thorough and helpful experience. The readings, backgrounds, and accompanying scriptures gave me a deeper understanding of not only my faith, but sparked some great conversations between Camille and I. We really enjoyed reading [our instructor’s] feedback, and understanding where we could learn more about any given topic that was discussed.
Her:Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed going about the course. The context of the readings and videos were very helpful and we will definitely utilize and reference many of them as we go through the sacrament of matrimony and beyond. In addition to the context, spending time together each week to do the readings and assignments became times that we treasured. [our instructor’s] detailed feedback after each assignment was also very helpful.
Both:Prior to the course, our perception of how we communicated to each other was already very positive. However, the course taught us how we could improve our communication even more. For instance, we plan to better utilize "I" statements instead of "you" (blaming) statements. Additionally, making it imperative to place a bigger emphasis on active listening as communicating our expectations.