Marriage: Prioritizing and Strategizing

I have always had my idea of what priorities are necessary when entering a marriage:

Soft-skills: Love, Respect, Communication 

Self-explanatory

Financial Planning
Find an accountant, financial planner and get our financial plan in order. Since finances are probably the #1 strain on a marriage, I want to have plans A,B,C,D,and E in place to ensure this is something we have to worry less and less about.

Pre-Marital Counseling
Although its very exciting to get caught up in the party-planning of it all (which is crazy/stupid fun to me), it's more important to focus on what happens AFTER the party, the marriage, the rest of our lives. While Chris and I have dated for years, know each others families (another very helpful aspect to our relationship), I can't imagine that we have cracked the surface on some of the trials we will experience together in the coming years. I would rather start thinking about these scenarios and situations now rather than crossing the bridges when we come to them. It would be naive to think we can address all issues that may come up in a few counseling sessions, but it seems like a better idea to get start thinking about them now rather than being surprised later.

It's going to happen, but if we can get ahead of it, let's do so

Home Ownership
I have always wanted a house. Growing up in a small family, it was never necessary for us to live in a large home. I grew up in apartments and townhouses. But I always wanted a house with a yard of my own. So that is in our plans. Hopefully, we will accomplish this goal in a reasonable amount of time.

Then... we can get to planning a party to honor all of the friends and family who have supported us and our relationship over the years...