The Marriage Preparation Course (Part 1)

Wei Jien and I attended the first session of our wedding preparation course last Saturday. Truth be told, I only enrolled for this because both our parents insisted on it. Also, a good friend of mine thought it would help prepare us for a life of togetherness. I guess it helped him prepare for marriage. 

We made our way to class in Damansara Perdana -- Wei Jien, with an open mind and myself, with my guard up. I'm usually very hesitant when it comes to things I'm unsure of, and this course was one of them. We joined 5 other couples in this marriage preparation course. The people conducting the course were very friendly and understood my reservations. They assured me that my privacy will not be invaded and I can remain in my comfort zone throughout the 6 weeks. That eased my tension, a little.


During the first session, we were asked to do a couple's compatibility test. 165 questions and we had to shade the answers...just like UPSR, PMR and SPM. That was my least favourite part of the course. Wei Jien felt the same way. Support couples (those who have been happily married for years and some who went through the course previously) were there to share their thoughts and experiences. 

Scenarios such as, "Where to live?", "Who takes care of the baby?", "Who does the cooking", "Who should contribute more to the household finances?" and "Who does the chores?" were addressed. We were also asked to label these things according to their importance to us:

1) Myself

2) My spouse

3) My children

4) My work

5) My community

The answers from all of us varied. Even Wei Jien's answers and mine weren't the same. But we were encouraged to talk about it and reason with each other on why we chose our answers. I won't tell you what our answers were, but why don't you do this mini test with your spouse, girlfriend or fiancee? It does help see where the relationship is heading.