FAQ

The EE weekends are held at Bishop Manogue High School located at 110 Bishop Manogue Dr. in Reno, in the Student Community Center.  The High School is located in South Reno next to St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

This is a commuter weekend, meaning that you will not stay overnight during the weekend and will go home after each days sessions.

We recommend the 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, it 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.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is designed to provide couples getting married the tools needed for a successful marriage. The retreat is open to any engaged couple wanting to prepare for a deeper, more meaningful life together in a marriage recognized by the Catholic Church according to its Church law.

Weekends are $190 per couple.

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, both fiancé’s 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;
• Bring a snack to place on the shared snack table which will be available in the conference room (water, tea, and coffee will be provided)
• Any snack or drink items for your own personal consumption

Weekends start Saturday promptly at 8:00 am, so plan to arrive between 7:30 and 7:45 am.

Weekends usually end by Sunday at 3:00pm.

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 meal times, 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.

1.In the event of cancellation, a full refund will be issued if you notify Engaged Encounter 7 or more days prior to the weekend.  NO REFUND will be made if Engaged Encounter is not notified of cancellation. For these requests, please contact the Registation Couple at (775) 530-8565. 

2. Couples will be present for all weekend sessions which will begin promptly at 8 am on Saturday morning and end by 3 PM on Sunday.

3. Couples will refrain from the use of alcohol and illegal drugs during the weekend.

4. Couples will not bring pets or children to the weekend and will make arrangements for their care prior to our weekend.

5. Couples will not bring any items that will be a distraction for us such a laptops or other media devices.

6. Couples will not leave the weekend for any reason, unless an emergency arises. If you need to leave, we will speak to one of the presenting couples before leaving.

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 fiance about issues you may not have already discussed. If your fiance is not present, you will be unable to complete the program.