Since 1999, we have customized this special weekend for couples committed to growing their relationship and improving their marriage. We believe our getaway is set apart and powerful because we emphasize a practical process for elevating your marriage, rather than simply sharing ideas and presenting information. One long-time attendee put it best when she said, “It’s not so much what we get out of the retreat, but what the retreat gets out of us.”

We agree!

Because of this approach, many of our attendees come back year after year as an annual tradition to keep their relationship fit and healthy. Our current record for years of attendance stands at 11. Numerous couples have also attended 5 or more years in a row. Year after year, our couples get better at putting into practice the concepts and tools we present.

As with individuals, marriages definitely change but growth is optional. Different seasons produce new challenges and opportunities, both as a couple and as parents. Our philosophy is summed up as follows: strong individuals, strong marriages, strong families, strong legacies.

According to past participants who have attended other marriage conferences, our weekend stands out due to an unparalleled formula for success including: luxurious venues with excellent food, the peer couples (very entrepreneurial), provocative prep work and Travel Time Assignment, intentional one on-one couple time, succinct classroom time, uber practical concepts, world-class planning materials, and twelve months of post-retreat encouragement and reminders.

We hope you will give it a try and experience for yourself!

Most couples who have attended have been married between 7 and 25 years. However, we typically have a handful of newlyweds (1 year or less) and a few of those married over 40 years, as well as just about every anniversary in between. Each couple is able to “self-customize” the retreat to be most relevant to their stage of marriage.

The session time is when Tommy coaches you through your “planning tool kit” and shares best practices from long-term attendees for strengthening your relationship and keeping it strong. Sometimes, Tommy will teach for the entire time. More often than not, he will introduce a concept and then have attendees do a drill on their own or with their spouse. All “class time” is engineered to help you make optimal progress with your individual goals and plans during your free time at the retreat. You’ll find the sessions fast-paced, focused and different than the same old marriage talk.

We use the term “couple time” to refer to the margin we create for you and your spouse to hang out, work on your goals, and just have productive fun without the distractions of every other weekend of the year.  What we never do is put you on the spot or compel you to engage in “touchy-feely” exercises. 🙂

It all depends on what kind of “problems” you are having. Of course, all couples have problems in their marriage. This is a very normal dynamic. Our weekend getaway helps attendees experience the closeness and joy they desire in their relationship, despite the natural challenges that come with being married. The future-focused retreat is not intended to be a substitute for counseling and therapy, but instead, a proactive process for bringing out the best in each other and intentionally growing together in the same direction. So, if, in your view, you have an “average” or “good” marriage, we can help you improve your relationship and take it to the next level.

While this varies from year to year, our structured, scheduled sessions last about 2 hours on both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and then 90 minutes on Sunday morning. In these seminar-like programs, we share ideas and strategies for creating a closer and more intentional relationship. We encourage you to take advantage of our planning materials during your free time. The full and final agenda is posted and shared about a month before your retreat weekend.

While the goal of the retreat stays constant, the lessons, resources, and points of emphasis change from year to year. Sometimes the differences are overt and other times, more subtle. The goal of our retreat, stated casually, is “to provide a purposeful getaway for married couples to rejuvenate their relationship and reset an intentional and compelling vision for the year ahead and beyond.”

Since we have so many repeat attendees, (typically more than half the entire group) we strive to keep the process fresh, fun and engaging. And we always include a surprise or two!