You’ve all heard the statistic that about 50% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, right?
Well consider this: 92% of all proposals end in marriage.
That means not everyone is having great success with lasting marriages, but the majority of people are having success with their proposals. They know that they want to marry each other, even if they don’t always agree on how to spend the rest of their lives together.
The reason for the success rate of marriage proposals is simple: it is easy to know when you are in love and want to get married. In order to craft a great proposal, all that is needed is a simple idea and a little time to follow some easy steps. You will be guaranteed to sweep her off her feet and make your proposal unforgettable.
The harder part is to rekindle those loving feelings after the wedding, after the honeymoon, and after a couple of years in a marriage. It is scientifically proven that those strong feelings of love will fade… quickly. What happens after that? Judging from the statistics, about half of those marriages fail. The couples that have not built a strong foundation in their relationship will watch it crumble, and end in divorce. The other half of couples have built a strong foundation together – based on mutual respect, admiration, and trust. Even if the feelings of love aren’t as strong, the relationship is still stable.
Now here is the shocking truth: the strength of the marriage can be predicted based upon the proposal.
It’s true. The proposal is often a microcosm of the relationship itself. A lot of elements of the proposal reveal the nature of the couple, and can go a long way towards determining the type of marriage they will have together.
Is it an absolute indicator on marriage and divorce? Of course not. It would be silly to think otherwise. But at the same time, a lot of insight and evidence can be gained from the proposal itself.
For example:
1) Was the proposal spontaneous, or was it carefully planned?
A spontaneous proposal will speak to the spontaneous nature of the couple involved. They could be the types to fall in love quickly, and go whichever way the wind blows them. Perhaps they didn’t have many serious conversations about marriage prior to the proposal, and they were caught a little off guard.
Meanwhile, a couple that is prepared will have conversations about marriage, shared goals, and a vision for their lives spent together. They are more confident that they are making the right decision. The proposal is more thought out and better planned, as is the marriage in general.
2) Did he take the right steps before making the ask?
Did he speak to her parents and seek their permission? A major issue with marriages is the relationship of in-laws. Does he love and respect her parents enough to get their approval? Did he talk to her friends and get their input and advice? It is important that the man has a good relationship with her closest friends. These are all signs that the man is thinking through all of the possible contingencies with respect to a proposal, and that he is well prepared.
3) Was the proposal everything she hoped it would be?
Hopefully the man knows his girlfriend well enough that he knows the kind of proposal she would want to have. He should know a good location, a good time, and the right mood. It reflects the fact that he understands his sweetheart well, and is able to craft the perfect moment for her. If she is a private person, and he tries to propose on the Jumbotron of a football game, that is clearly not a good sign of things to come. But if surprises her with a well-planned and well-executed moment, she will always remember that.
4) Does she call up all of her friends immediately afterwards, and brag about the ring?
After a proposal, the woman should be positively glowing with excitement and joy. She should be so overwhelmed in the moment, that she wants to share the good news with everyone. This is the moment, after all, that most young girls dream about. If she is anything less than enthused, it will be obvious. Perhaps she is not eager to share the good news with everyone else. She doesn’t update her status on Facebook, and put pictures on her wall. That is not a good sign. If the woman isn’t excited now, is she ever going to be?
5) Do they start making wedding plans right away?
What is the point of getting engaged if the couple has no plans to get married? You should always be wary of couples that remain engaged for longer than two years, unless they have a good reason for it (like he is an enlisted soldier and is stationed overseas). The average length of an engagement before the wedding is 14 months, according to Wedding Industry Statistics. If the couple isn’t even speaking about the wedding by that point, then there is a problem.
I believe that married couples who are experiencing problems in their relationship should think back to the engagement and the proposal. At that moment during the proposal, they felt pure love for one another, and unbridled joy at the thought of getting married. Some couples need to work on recapturing that love and joy that they felt in those early moments. What did they feel for each other that they wanted to get married in the first place?
Nobody wants to get divorced. Marriages don’t fail during the engagement. At that point, couples expect they will have a wonderful life together. But signs of a strong marriage are evident from the moment of proposal onward. The marriage proposal is a symbol of a life spent together in love and joy. Make sure it counts.
If you want to learn more about crafting the perfect proposal and marrying the woman of your dreams, then check out my book “The Ultimate Marriage Proposal: The Guide to Meeting the Girl of Your Dreams, Crafting the Ultimate Proposal, and Living a Joyous Life.” Available on Amazon.com at this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FX9X33E/ref=r_soa_w_d
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_C_Booth
