Blog

The journey to the wedding day may be a winding one. I’m happy to share some tips and tricks along the way. I continually offer ways to strengthen your relationship, and provide additional resources & tools. Scroll on down, and click on a post that interests you. The comments are always open, and I would love to know what you think!

Children & Parenting Hope Mirlis Children & Parenting Hope Mirlis

Building Strong Relationships: CHILDREN & PARENTING

I was dreading this pre-marital topic because it's one that I have the least amount of experience. I work mostly with couples who have yet to have children, and I don't have any kids myself, so I have limited knowledge of how the issues around parenting affect a marriage or a relationship. However, after meeting with a good friend on Friday who shared the experience around her parents' divorce when she was a small child, I realized I had the same...an experience of my own childhood. Being raised by strong parents who have been married for 46 years and counting. I am not sure why I didn't think to use them more this week. But alas, I will use them now.

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Guest Post, Sex & Intimacy Hope Mirlis Guest Post, Sex & Intimacy Hope Mirlis

GUEST POST: The Raw Scoop on Sex and Intimacy

As I prepped for this week, I knew that I had to reach out to my friend and colleague, Annette Gates. She was kind enough to offer some great exercises for me to share with my couples during the Sex and Intimacy session of counseling. And I knew she had some great writings of her own ready and willing to share. I cannot thank her enough for her generosity and expertise.

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Beliefs & Values Hope Mirlis Beliefs & Values Hope Mirlis

Core Values Exercise

I started doing this exercise with my life coaching clients, but saw its necessity with some of my wedding couples, as well. We get our information from many sources and many of us are taught to memorize facts without any challenges of critical thinking. So, it's an important thing to consider What You Believe.

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Marriage, Money Hope Mirlis Marriage, Money Hope Mirlis

Building Strong Relationships: MONEY

I am taking the next 7 weeks to go through the reasons why people get divorced. In all of my materials and on the website, I use similar wording. Do I use the word 'divorce' to scare pre-wedding couples a bit? Hell, yes! While the '50% of all marriages end in divorce' may be a huge overestimate, we cannot discount the high rate of divorce in this country.

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Guest Post, Marriage, Money Hope Mirlis Guest Post, Marriage, Money Hope Mirlis

GUEST POST: Letting Go

The following is a guest post by Carrie Birgbauer. We were introduced by a mutual friend and finally met up over great coffee up in the Heights. We talked about living in the Bay, yoga, getting married and up town living. She's my go-to gal for any couples to need expert money advice. The post was written in June of this year, before Carrie tied the knot with her now husband. Enjoy!

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