THE DISCOVERY
WEEKEND
by Excel V. Dyquiangco
For couples who want to tie the
knot, there are of the course,
the pre-counseling seminars.
But when couples want to
experience,
develop
and
deepen their relationship even
more, there is the Discovery
Weekend.
What is the Discovery
Weekend?
“The
Discovery
Weekend
(DW) believes in taking
marriage seriously,” says Aiza
Tabayoyong, Vice Chairman,
Marriage
Preparation
Foundation Inc. “And like any
commitment we make, any job
we take or any profession we
choose, being a husband or
a wife requires just as much
training, if not more so. The
DW aims to provide a venue
for such needed training as
it equips couples with ways
to assess their readiness for
marriage as an individual and
as a couple, and tools on how
to be better lifetime partners
to their future spouses. The
DW seeks to paint a more
realistic picture of what married
life entails – that with the joys
and blissful moments comes
the challenges in keeping the
romance and love alive between
them while facing the rigors of
adjusting to a person from a
totally different background,
caring your own family, building
a home, adjusting to in-laws,
raising children, etc. Thus, DW
strongly advocates the need
to prepare for the marriage,
not just for the wedding, to
bring back the focus from the
romance and grandeur of the
wedding day, to what those
vows during the wedding are
really all about.
What should couples
expect?
During the seminar, couples
should expect three steps:
presentation by the team couple,
a personal written reflection
aided by a questionnaire;
and a couple-dialogue which
are done privately. Here,
couples can share their most
intimate secrets.“There are
no group discussions,” adds
Tabayoyong. “It is a seminarworkshop intended for the
couple to really be together
without the distraction of work,
family, studies and other social
obligations. While DW does
not promise an instant happy
marriage (for this relies more
on the effort put in by both
partners), it gives the couple a
much needed initial ‘orientation
& training’ to be better prepared
and equipped to enter married
life.”
How much is the
seminar?
For Manila couples, cost
is at P7,500 and Cebubased,
P5,000. This includes
accommodation, food and
the materials needed for the
seminar.
Who to call? For interested
parties, contact 426-1271,
(0906) 783-2140 and look for
Lala Denilla for both
Manila and Cebu, or email
[email protected]