FAQ

Engaged Encounter is a community of local lay married couples and priests. The local community is part of the national Catholic Engaged Encounter program. The team couples have been through a work-shopping process to prepare their presentations. All are volunteers who look at engaged ministry as a calling to serve God and the Catholic church.

We recommend 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, 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. Reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis and weekends do fill up. Spring weekends are usually the fullest and do fill up so it is best to register as soon as you can. All marriage preparation is coordinated through the parish. Prior to registering for a weekend, please notify your parish priest of your intent to marry.

No, individuals and couples of other faiths are welcome and often attend. At the same time though, because the Encounter is a Catholic program, all presentations are from a Catholic perspective and theology on marriage. CEE welcomes couples of all faiths. Be aware however that Catholic Engaged Encounter is a program designed for couples who are preparing for a marriage that would be recognized by the Catholic Church.

The registration fee is $175 per couple. Please pay total amount with reservation. A minimum of seventeen (17) days notice is required to cancel or reschedule a weekend. $60 is always non-refundable. Balance is refundable only with the 17 days notice. Scholarships for full or partial payments are available on a financial need basis. If you need assistance, please contact us ASAP. We will contact your priest to request that the parish contribute. We ask you the couple to contribute along with your priest and the Engaged Encounter community will help cover the remaining balance.
To date, no couple has ever been turned away because of lack of funds.

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, couples 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:

• Wear comfortable casual clothing.
• A reusable cup to enjoy coffee and water during the retreat.
• Any snack or drink items for your own personal consumption (water, tea, and coffee will be provided). No alcohol.

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 mealtimes, 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 entire weekend is casual. Please dress comfortably. We will attend Mass during the weekend, however casual attire is acceptable.

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 fiancé is not present, you will be unable to complete the program.

Commuter Weekends do not require an overnight stay.  Although they begin at the same time (8:00 a.m.), couples leave around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday evening and return Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. to complete their weekend around 5:00 p.m.