We recommend the using the “earlier the better” policy. Many parishes require you to start marriage prep at least 6 months in advance. As soon as you are engaged, or even considering engagement, it is the right time to attend a retreat. By attending early, you can discover areas of growth necessary in your relationship, determine if engagement and marriage is right for you and avoid the last-minute hassles of attending a retreat while trying to do everything else your wedding day entails.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is designed to provide couples getting married the tools needed for a successful marriage. The retreat is open to any engaged couple wanting to prepare for a deeper, more meaningful life together in a marriage recognized by the Catholic Church according to its Church law.

Weekends are $250 per couple.

Financial assistance is available to help defray the cost of the retreat for couples in need. Contact your priest or the CEE team for more information.

The retreat is not group therapy, instead, it provides private one-on-one time for the couple to learn about each other and marriage based on 5 major themes: The Family we Grew Up In, Sacramental Marriage, Communications, Intimacy – more than just sex, and Values. Couples learn about these 5 major themes through a series of presentations given by married couples. After each presentation, retreatants are given time to individually reflect and write on the topic covered. Couples then are given time to privately reflect as a couple. Couples are never required to share with the group.

We suggest you bring the following items with you:

• Cot or inflatable mattress, sleeping bag or blankets,
  and pillows.
• Washcloths, soap, personal items. (Showers are not available on site.)
• Comfortable casual clothing for the retreat and a nice outfit for Sunday Mass.
• A reusable water bottle or cup to enjoy coffee and/or water during the retreat.
• Meals (Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch) will be provided. Snacks will also be provided throughout the weekend. Feel free to bring additional snack or drink items for your own personal consumption or to share with the group.

Weekends start Friday at 7:00pm, so plan to arrive at 6:30 pm to sign in, bring in your personal items, and grab a snack before we begin.

Weekends end on Sunday by 2:00 pm.

The weekend schedule will be posted on site.

Each couple will receive two workbooks to use throughout the retreat. These are yours to keep. The workbook provides an outline of the retreat and topics covered. Due to varying factors, such as meal times, slight differences in presenter’s length on topics, we are unable to provide exact timing of each presentation. Most presentations, individual reflection and couple reflection time total about 60-90 minutes.

YES, it is very important that you stay for the entire retreat. If you arrive late or leave early, you will miss important parts of the retreat experience, and we will not be able to give you your certificate of completion of the retreat.

Yes, we do ask that you observe a few basic rules.

• Please refrain from the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.
• Please respect this is a Catholic retreat – we ask that you dress appropriately. Gentlemen, please no hats.
• Please remember the weekend is presented at a Catholic facility and be respectful of your surroundings.
• Please do not leave the weekend, for any reason, unless an emergency arises. If you need to leave, please speak to one of the team members.

Dress for the retreat weekend is casual. Please dress comfortably for the sessions and Saturday morning Mass.

We will also attend Mass on Sunday with the parish.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is a smoke free environment, and due to state law all of our facilities prohibit smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes. If you do smoke, each facility has designated smoking areas outside of the building. Additionally, as a sign of respect, we ask that you please refrain from using e-cigarettes or vaping inside the facilities as well.

Planning a wedding can be a fun and exciting time. It can also be stressful. Catholic Engaged Encounter offers a weekend-long retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life, where you can focus on each other, your relationship, and what it means to become a sacrament. While couples spend the majority of the retreat together – there is not much free time. Couples should plan to start their day a little earlier and work a little later than they typically would on an average weekend at home.

Catholic Engaged Encounter offers a weekend-long retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life, where you can focus on each other, your relationship, and what it means to become a sacrament. As such we ask that couples refrain from using electronic devices as much as possible – including cell phones.

No, the purpose of the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend is to interact with and talk with your fiancé about issues you may not have already discussed. If your fiance is not present, you will be unable to complete the program.

The team is very busy giving talks and coordinating meals and other retreat events during the weekend so they are unable to provide childcare. If parents are unable to arrange for childcare, please contact the team at fairbanks@engagedencounter.com.