The 5 most important things every engaged couple should talk about

There are five crucial topics that every engaged couple should discuss before the big day.

Setting off on the right foot is crucial for any marriage, so engaged couples should spend time before the wedding talking about their lives after the party. Explore these five topics with your fiancé(e) before tying the knot:

• This is when you need to be completely honest with your partner.
• If you have any secrets lurking in your past, like personal troubles that you haven't shared with anybody, you need to sit down and open up.
• Secrets have a knack for creeping into relationships later on.

• Marriage doesn't just affect you and your spouse. By tying the knot, you're binding together two entirely different families.
• Before making this commitment, establish an understanding when it comes to family.
• How much involvement will your in-laws have in your life together? How often will you visit them? Who will you spend Christmas with?
• Make sure your family arrangements are clear so that you can put them aside and work on starting your own.

• Understanding your partner's views on sex is a fundamental step to take before getting married.
• It's crucial that you know each other's expectations, opinions and sexual history.
• Sex is a major issue in countless marriages, and having a good grasp of how your partner feels will help keep you off the therapist's couch later on.

• In married life, few things require more discussion than money. You're merging your lives, and likely your bank accounts.
• Salary, inherited sums and bills become a shared issue. If you're not on the same page financially, your marriage may slowly fall apart.
• Talk about how you're going to handle your finances when you're married.

• The traditional understanding of marriage is that children will follow. The issue of having children is something that you need to discuss before you get married.
• Oftentimes, marriages fall apart because of opposing views concerning kids. Raising children isn't for everyone, and it's important for your partner to know where you stand.
• Talk about things like how many kids you want, whether one parent will stay home, and other related factors to make sure you're on the same page.

Engagement is a time of excitement and joy. In this small period in a couple's life, it becomes easy to get carried away dreaming about the perfect wedding and making big plans for it.

However, don't forget to invest a little time in planning and discussing your actual marriage, because once the excitement and celebrations have passed, your whole life lies ahead of you.