As many of you who read my blog regularly know, I recently had a world win romance and wedding just over a year ago. It was truly beautiful, but the path to love isn’t always easy! For some, when you meet the right person there’s that spark or love at first sight moment, and for others it’s something that grows over time. Either way, you’re bound to come up against moments in your relationship where you wonder if you’ve found the right person for you, or you find yourself at odds over an issue- from finances to who gets to sleep on which side of the bed!

During the dating process there aren’t always a ton of options for helping couples get to the heart of important topics. You can ask your friends, therapists, even your mother, but at the end of the day, it’s all about communication between the two people in the relationship.

I came across this book, Very Engaging, by surprisingly, two male bankers, who came up with the idea while planning for their own weddings to the special women in their lives.  “The idea for this book first came to fruition when Les and I first started working together. At the time, Les was recently married, and I was just engaged. We were talking about our experiences and discussed what the pre-marital counseling process of truly getting to know your partner and learning about their family was really like. We wanted to find a fun, alternative way for couples to stimulate meaningful conversations with their partners,” said Charly Ligety, Co-Author of Very Engaging.

The book actually ‘gamifys’ your toughest relationship questions through fun interactive elements including coloring, drawing, pop quizzes, and more. Each partner plays through their own unique copy of the book, His + Hers, simultaneously, turning each page together. The activities offer the chance to explore the strengths and areas in need of improvement in your relationship in a non-confrontational way.

“The wedding industry is largely focused on that one big day and often geared toward females. We wanted to provide something that also spoke to men and carried the same fun energy as your wedding day, while helping couples really navigate the nuances and challenges of marriage beyond saying ‘I do.’ We also noticed there was a lack of meaningful engagement gifts on the market. You get items like candles and picture frames but nothing that is actually going to help you become better husbands or wives. We thought what a cool idea it would be if you had a meaningful and fun activity where you are also learning to become a better partner,” said Les Starck, Co-Author of the book.

The book isn’t just for engagements! It can be great for serious couples thinking about next steps, newleyweds like myself and Max who are adjusting to married life, and even couples who have been together for years but need to revisit some of the pain points in their relationship to make positive changes.  It makes a great engagement or bridal shower gift, anniversary present, or just a fun couples activity on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Very Engaging is out in a sample teaser book now which I was delighted to play, and Charly and Les are launching a Kickstarter  Wednesday, July 26th where you can pre-order the full book and help raise funds for publishing. There’s even a chance to have your name written into one of the book’s couples activities! Visit Kickstarter.com and search Very Engaging to support and get your copy.