By Lori Lowe

Happy Life: Happy Marriage Series

Marriage experts suggest if engaged couples focused more on their long-term marriage needs than on the short-term wedding plans, they might improve their marriage odds. And while a formal wedding celebration can be a great beginning for a marriage, going too far might cause a disastrous start.

“A wedding should not favor the festivities as much as it should honor a couple’s love and respect for one another and their mutual commitment,” says Dr. Gilda Carle, love and relationship expert and author of 99 Prescriptions for Fidelity.

Carle recently used the wedding of Reese Witherspoon as a positive example and trend. Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth recently wed in an intimate ceremony on her ranch with 100 friends and family members. This... More...