Premarital Counseling in Minnesota
Certified Prepare/Enrich · Online Across Minnesota
What Premarital Counseling at ForwardUs Does
Most couples who come to premarital counseling are not in trouble. You are here because you want to be intentional about the marriage. What you can not see yet are the patterns the two of you already run, the ones that are easy to miss now and shape how you handle conflict for the rest of the marriage.
The Conversations That Run a Marriage
You have talked about the wedding. You have probably talked about where you want to live and whether you want kids. What most couples have not talked about, and what premarital counseling is actually for, is the quieter stuff. Whose career moves when you can’t both win. How money gets handled once it is shared. How much each of your families gets a say. What you each assume is normal because it was normal in the house you grew up in.
These conversations are easy to skip while you are planning a wedding and they are the ones premarital counseling exists to have, now, while they are still easy.
What Happens in Your Six Premarital Counseling Sessions
Premarital counseling at ForwardUs runs six sessions, online, both of you on the call.
Session 1. You both take the Prepare/Enrich assessment before we meet. I walk you through the results and name the specific strengths your relationship is built on and the pressure points that will show up under stress.
Sessions 2 and 3. We work on how the two of you handle conflict, using the patterns the assessment surfaced. You practice the hard conversations with me in the room, so I can catch the moment one of you starts to shut down and show you what happened.
Sessions 4 and 5. We go deep on the conversations that run a marriage: what each of you is actually assuming about money, family, and whose life bends when both cannot win. The Prepare/Enrich assessment maps where those assumptions collide and the Gottman work is how we move you through them.
Session 6. We pull everything into a plan you keep. You leave with a guide specific to your relationship and a notarized Educator's Statement, the document Minnesota requires, that qualifies you for $75 off your marriage license.
Meet Evon Inyang, MA, LAMFT
I support engaged couples across Minnesota who want a marriage that holds up when life gets stressful.
In session, I am active. I name what I see while it is happening, even when it is a little uncomfortable. I will laugh with you too, because planning a wedding while deciding whose family gets Christmas is genuinely a lot.
I am a Board-Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, a certified Prepare/Enrich facilitator and trained in the Gottman Method. I pair the framework with the Prepare/Enrich assessment, the most trusted tool in premarital counseling, so the work is built around your specific relationship.
One thing worth saying: nothing we find means you should not get married. It means you walk in knowing what you are actually saying yes to.
Trusted by Couples. Referred by Professionals.
Couples who do premarital counseling typically walk into marriage more satisfied and better at handling what comes later. It is one of the few things shown to lower the odds of divorce, by around 30 percent. We build that work around your actual relationship using the Prepare/Enrich assessment, so none of it is generic.
Reserve Your Free Premarital Consultation
ForwardUs Counseling is a private-pay, out-of-network practice. If you have out-of-network benefits, a superbill is available on request for possible partial reimbursement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Premarital Counseling in Minnesota
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No, premarital counseling is not required to marry in Minnesota. It is optional, though couples who complete at least twelve hours of premarital education with a qualified provider qualify for a reduced marriage license fee. Most couples choose it to build skills for marriage, not to satisfy a requirement.
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Starting two to three months before your wedding works well for most couples. That timeline gives room for the full assessment and the core conversations without rushing, while leaving space around the busiest stretch of wedding planning. Couples who start earlier often get even more out of the process.
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Premarital counseling is an investment in the marriage itself, and many couples find the cost modest next to the wedding budget. ForwardUs is private-pay and out-of-network. Minnesota couples who complete the program also receive a certificate qualifying them for a reduced marriage license fee, which offsets part of the cost.
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Then you found it now, in premarital counseling, while it is small and you have time instead of five years in. Whatever comes up, you walk into the marriage knowing what you are actually working with. That is the point.
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Premarital counseling usually runs four to eight sessions, depending on the provider and the couple's goals. My Re|Pair to Prepare package is six sessions, which allows time for the personalized Prepare/Enrich assessment plus the conversations around conflict, finances, family and intimacy that shape the early years of marriage.
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Yes. Sessions are online across Minnesota with evening and weekend availability, because you are planning a wedding and your calendar is already full.
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