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Engaged? Questions to Ask Before Tying the Knot

From the Show: Staying Well
Summary: First comes love, then comes marriage... unfortunately, most couples skip a crucial step between their love and their future.
Air Date: 2/10/14
Duration: 10
Host: Melanie Cole, MS
Guest Bio: Dr. Leslie Parrott, Marriage and Family Therapist
dr-leslie-parrottDr. Les Parrott, a licensed clinical psychologist, and Dr. Leslie Parrott, a marriage and family therapist, are #1 New York Times bestselling authors of dozens of popular books on love and relationships.

Over the years, the husband-wife team has been featured on Oprah, CBS This Morning, CNN, and The View and in USA Today and the New York Times. They are frequent guest speakers and have written for a variety of magazines. Together, they have conducted thousands of mentoring sessions and traveled the world speaking about achieving healthy relationships. Bestselling books include Real Relationships, Crazy Good Sex, L.O.V.E., Your Time-Starved Marriage, Love Talk, The Parent You Want To Be and Trading Places.

Their latest book, Making Happy: The Art and Science of a Happy Marriage (Worthy Publishing, April 2014), offers a proven three-week "happiness plan" that will dial up the happiness factor in any marriage.

In 1991, the Parrotts founded the Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University – a groundbreaking program dedicated to teaching the basics of good relationships.

Speaking in over 40 countries and publishing their books in more than two dozen languages has allowed them to expand their practical solutions to a global population. Their audiences include a wide array of venues, from churches to Fortune 500 company boardrooms. Their innovative and insightful presentation of applicable advice has included the basics of good relationships to on-site support in the wake of disasters such as Chernobyl.

The Parrotts are passionate about helping others build healthy relationships by combining their professional experience, real-life knowledge, and research of new trends and fresh perspectives on marriage into practical advice and tactics for everyone to utilize.

The Parrotts also host a daily radio show on Chicago's Shine FM. They are currently touring North America, teaching couples how to to fight fair, with their "Fight Night" seminar.

Happily married for over 25 years, Les and Leslie live in Seattle, Washington with their two sons.
 Engaged? Questions to Ask Before Tying the Knot
Love can be wonderful, special and rare; but love can also be blinding. If you have certain expectations of what your future holds with your significant other (having five kids, practicing a specific religion, working while also being a full-time mom) wouldn't you think to talk to your partner before the wedding date?

Most couples don't.

While dating, you are just sharing little things like blankets to watch a movie or food to snack on. When you're engaged, you're not just sharing the little things anymore; you're sharing things that you might not have realized.

So, what questions should you be asking your significant other before or during your path to marriage?

One of the fundamentals is asking what you and your significant other expect out of marriage. You may have these unspoken expectations of what roles you and your spouse will hold during marriage.

Another important question to think about is how you fight, or communicate about issues that bother you? There have been studies with 94 percent accuracy in determining if your relationship will end in a divorce just based off how you handle conflicts during a fight.

In this segment, marriage and family therapist, Leslie Parrott, discusses the important questions to ask before getting married and why you need to ask your partner before saying "I do."