You’ve asked enough questions of your photographer, caterer and florist that you feel pretty clear on what they should give you on your wedding day.

10 things you should talk about before you get married – al.com.

A friend of mine recently asked:

Hi Michael I have a favor to ask you…What is the different between love and being in love?

Here was my answer, I thought many of you might like reading this response and I pray it is encouraging to you:

What a great question Belky! Here’s the difference, when you are “in love”, that can always go away, because feelings come and go. That kind of love is situational and based on feelings and how well you’re being treated or feel at the time. But when you love someone, that is a decision and is not prone to emotional quirks, but rather fortified through commitment. That is the kind of love that is real. And incidentally, when you choose to love someone, no matter what, the feelings of love always follow =]

If you are single and want to be irresistible, then what does it take to get noticed?  What are the most important qualities of an irresistible person – a virtual love magnet?  Keep on reading and discover the qualities of an irresistible single Read the full story

I honestly can’t pinpoint why my last attempted relationship ended, but I am old enough to realize that if he isn’t the one, he isn’t the one. Read the full story

In a recent interview, Michael McManus shares why cohabitation hurts a future marriage:

Taking the life of cohabitation for a test drive before committing to a marriage has become enormously popular. And yet, with the failure of so many cohabiting relationships, and the swollen divorce rates of couples who cohabit before marriage, such a widespread cultural practice deserves critical examination. Michael McManus, coauthor of Living Together: Myths, Risks & Answers, and President of Marriage Savers, a nonprofit organization, discuss the deleterious effects of cohabitation in an interview with National Review Online editor Kathryn Lopez.

 

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What’s so bad about living together?

 

Michael McManus: Couples who live together are gambling and losing in 85 percent of the cases. Many believe the myth that they are in a “trial marriage.” Actually it is more like a “trial divorce,” in which more than eight out of ten couples will break up either before the wedding or afterwards in divorce. First, about 45 percent of those who begin cohabiting, do not marry. Those who undergo “premarital divorce” often discover it is as painful as the real thing. Another 5-10 percent continue living together and do not marry. These two trends are the major reason the marriage rate has plunged 50 percent since 1970. Couples who cohabit are likely to find that it is a paultry substitute for the real thing, marriage.

Read the full article here.

Q: My boyfriend has had sex, but I am still a virgin. I’m really interested in him, but I’d like to marry a man who’s a virgin, too. What should I do? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer