Premarital Counseling with ElopeRVA

The months before a wedding can be stressful, exciting, and filled with so much to do. There are often invitations to send, receptions to plan, and a ceremony to coordinate. With everything planning a wedding entails, it can be easy to forget about the one thing that truly matters: you, your partner, and the relationship you’re continuing to build together.

ElopeRVA wants to help you do it all! We want to be there to assist you in planning the perfect wedding and we also want to help you take care of your relationship and one another.  As we work to better support you, we are thrilled to announce a new premarital counseling service, available only to ElopeRVA clients. Research published in the Journal of Family Psychology demonstrated that couples who opted for premarital counseling reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and experienced a 30 percent decline in the likelihood of divorce over five years.

What is premarital counseling?

Premarital counseling invites you and your partner to better prepare for marriage. It involves setting time aside for meaningful conversations about “big topics” that are mediated by a trained facilitator with experience in premarital counseling.  Rev. Jamie Lynn Haskins is an ordained Chaplain and certified premarital counseling provider and is excited to offer this opportunity to our clients.

Rev. Jamie Lynn Haskins ; photo by Heather Frable

Why choose premarital counseling with ElopeRVA?

Our premarital counseling is research-based and customized to meet your needs. Each couple will take an assessment separately that points to strengths as well as possible growth areas for both individuals and for the relationship. Following the assessment, Jamie Lynn will provide custom resources and lead you in conversation that helps you go deeper as a couple and come to a clearer understanding of what you both want and need.

 What should we expect at our first session?

Premarital counseling involves four 60-minute sessions. During your first session, you will be provided with the results of your assessment as well as resources tailored to your needs as a couple. In conversation with Jamie Lynn, you will create a counseling plan and decide what you’d like to address in your time together. After designing your plan, you will jump right into conversation about what matters most—who you are as individuals and who you are together!

What will we discuss in premarital counseling? 

Counseling is tailored to each couple and your needs. Common topics can include: relationship dynamics (including strength and growth areas); communication, conflict resolution, couple dynamics as they relate to family-of-origin dynamics; financial management, relationship roles; sex and affection; children and parenting, and spiritual beliefs.

If you are interested in premarital counseling with ElopeRVA please fill out our contact form so that we can set up a time to talk. We would love to be apart of your day and help you take care of your relationship and one another.

A special thank you in honor of marriage equality

I started ElopeRVA after seeing a need for an elopement service in Richmond that put all love, especially LGBTQ+ love, at the forefront of its mission. It’s important to me that all love is celebrated equally every day, which is why I work to create safe and inclusive environments for all couples who want to get married.  

Two beautiful couples, who I also have the honor of calling my friends, helped me realize my passion for celebrating marriage equality. Both couples needed an officiant who believed in their love and could provide them with an experience tailored to their story. I sincerely thank them for allowing me to be a part of their special day and for being my first clients.

 Kriyyah and Rana 

I became friends with Rana while we were studying abroad in Paris, France. We quickly became close friends after spending one of our first nights at a small cafe drinking wine and talking into the wee hours of the night. 

Rana met her wife Kriyyah shortly after I met my husband and we have all developed a close bond. I was honored when Rana and Kriyyah decided to tie the knot and wanted me to officiate their wedding during Pride month last year in DC. As Pride celebrations took over the city, the couple exchanged vows in a beautiful rose garden surrounded by close friends and their adorable pups.

Yamila and Janelle 

I met Janelle a week before she met Yamila and they fell fast into a whirlwind romance. The two first met on a flight and not long after Janelle and I were excitedly planning an intimate airport elopement. Janelle and Yami said I do in an intimate ceremony at Richmond International Airport with just the three of us. A year later, we took off to a gorgeous chateau in France where I had the honor of marrying them in front of close family and friends.

I’m so grateful to my friends for helping me realize my passion for ushering couples into their next big step in life. Their marriages have been an important catalyst in allowing me to demonstrate the importance of all love being visible not just during the month of Pride but all year round. 

Love is love at ElopeRVA and we’re here to serve all couples! Contact us to learn how we can make your big day truly special.