What have you done for your relationship lately?
Happily ever after doesn’t have to be a fairy tale. A great marriage can lead to true happiness. But great marriages take work, and on a Marriage Encounter Weekend, you’ll develop the tools you need to restore communication, renew your commitment, and rekindle your romance.
In-person Methodist experiences are available a couple times a year. Check out our current experiences to find dates and times that work for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. A married man and woman, regardless of age, who want the best possible relationship.
A. A $100 non-refundable application fee is required with all applications. At the end of the weekend, the remaining costs will be explained, and you will be given the opportunity to make a freewill donation. The total cost generally runs between $350-$550. If you’d like to know the cost of a specific Marriage Encounter Weekend in advance, the reservation couple can answer your questions. After registering online, the reservation couple will contact you, and you can ask them about the cost at that time. Or, you can call 866.633.3862 to request contact information for the reservation couple for any weekend you’re interested in attending.
A. This is a couple-oriented experience comprised primarily of presentations followed by private couple reflection time. It is not a Bible study, lecture series or social weekend. This private and quiet weekend lets you and your spouse concentrate on each other — deepening your awareness of each other and the importance of God in your marriage.
A. Couples from all faith expressions and those with no church affiliation are welcome.
A. Our in-person weekends are currently on-hold for COVID-19 precautions, but we have virtual date night series you can sign up for now. Check out upcoming dates here.
A. Weekend presentations include:
- Exploring Our Personality Style
- Communicating Our Feelings
- Dealing with the Stresses in the World Around Us
- Learning What it Means to Really Listen
- Understanding God’s Plan for Our Marriage
- Keeping Our Relationship a Priority
- And More
The focus is on each other as you learn to let the rest of the world fade into the background.
A. Trained, certified volunteer couples will present the topics and share their own life experiences in each of the topic areas. Many teams have more than 10 years of experience presenting in these areas.
A. After each session, you and your spouse will have the opportunity to privately discuss the concepts that were presented. At no point will either of you be required to share in a group setting.
A. For our in-person weekends, after applying for a Weekend, you will be contacted by the reservation couple with more details, but as a general rule, registration will be around 6 p.m. on Friday evening. The presentations will begin around 7 p.m. Friday evening. The experience will end Sunday afternoon around 3 or 4 p.m. Please contact the reservation couple for your Weekend for specific details of that Weekend. Our Restore, Rekindle, Renew Enrichment and the current virtual date night series have a slightly different format — please check out our upcoming events page for details.
A. For our in-person weekends, you are encouraged to bring your own snacks and drinks for your room. Water and coffee are often provided in the presentation room. There will be no meal provided on Friday night, but you will be served three meals on Saturday and two meals on Sunday.
A. You bet! There’s a Marriage Encounter community of people who have already been encountered, and many of them have monthly get-togethers where they can find support from other couples who have made the commitment to keep their marriages a priority. They’d love to have you join them. Plus, we offer a variety of resources on this website.
A. We have a page full of tips, tools and ideas to help you invite others to enhance their marriage relationships and fall in love all over again!
A. The acronym “3RE” stands for “Restore, Rekindle and Renew Enrichment.” Couples who choose to attend a 3RE experience will cover the same information as a Marriage Encounter Weekend, but on a 3RE, the presentations happen during two to three-hour sessions over seven to eight weeks. Similar to the way a Bible study might meet. But the 3RE presentations are very in-depth and meant to draw husbands and wives closer together and to improve their communication. Couples have homework to work on between sessions.
A. The information covered in your presentations is exactly the same regardless of which experience you choose to attend. The difference is in the timing and format. A 3RE is shared over seven to eight sessions that last two to three hours each. Couples attending a 3RE will have homework between sessions. A Marriage Encounter Weekend is a 44-hour retreat, where couples stay at a hotel and experience all the presentations between Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
The 3RE experience is often offered as a DVD presentation. One presenting couple will facilitate the seven to eight sessions in person, playing a DVD that features three couples (one a clergy couple). These couples share stories from their own marriage journeys and provide time-tested communication advice on the video. The local couple will answer questions in the room.
Some 3RE experiences are presented live where the presenting couples are live and in-person at every session. This is only possible in areas where four presenting couples live close enough to present at seven to eight different sessions.
On a Marriage Encounter Weekend, there are typically four couples (one of them a clergy couple), who take turns presenting in sets of two couples. They share their personal stories in person along with presenting the proven Marriage Encounter communication techniques. They are available during meal times and in the evenings to answer questions.
Both experiences can have an amazing impact on your marriage. You need to choose the right format for you.
