Are all marriages “shotgun weddings?”

Now I’m sure that your first response is an emphatic “no,” because the term “shotgun wedding” is “…an American colloquialism based on a supposed scenario (hyperbole) that the father of the pregnant daughter, almost by accepted custom, must resort to using coercive force (the shotgun) to ensure the marriage is carried out.” (source Wikipedia). However, if we broaden the idea of a shotgun wedding as being one with little preparation or forethought, would your answer still be so clear?

Obviously much planning goes into most weddings. There’s the choosing of the dress, invitations, gift registry items, rings, wedding party members, guests, food for the reception, songs, honeymoon destinations, an on and on. What there may be less of these days is planning for the marriage. Or at least that’s what I’m wondering.

Marriage prepartion survey So, I’ve created a survey to get a glimpse of people’s experience with marriage preparation classes or pre-marital counseling. I’m curious to know how much time couples are spending getting to know one another and looking toward their shared future.

Help me learn about the modern marriage preparation. Take our short, five question marriage preparation survey (Your results are anonymous of course.). We’ll report on our results in an upcoming post.