With wedding season in full bloom, couples are faced with a lot of decisions, ranging from colors, budget concerns, who to invite, and the bridal party. But one big question that should be on their minds, according to family therapist Dr. Roxanne Louh, is how to include God. “Marriage is a challenging relationship at times because you’re merging two completely different histories, two different life stories, two different dispositions. If you don’t have God at the center of that, holding you accountable to something much greater than your own feelings — then your feelings can become quite divisive,” she told Fox News. She and her husband, Fr. Nicholas Louh, a Greek Orthodox priest, lead marriage seminars.

Speaking on “The Lighthouse Faith” podcast, Fr. Louh underscored the importance of marriage in the Bible. “In the very first chapter of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis, the first thing that God does is establish a family with Adam and Eve.” Jesus continued to highlight the importance of weddings in the New Testament too. “The very first miracle … that we see chronicled in the Scriptures takes place at a wedding. It’s the wedding service of Cana.” Statistics show that faith has a positive impact on marriage. The Institute for Family Studies found that couples who went to church together reported higher satisfaction in their marriages than those who don’t. Another study found that women who attend church regularly are 47 percent less likely to divorce than women who don’t. Similarly, another study found that regular church attendance reduced divorces by 30 percent.

Nancy Pearcey addressed the benefits of faith on marriages in her book, The Toxic War on Masculinity. Speaking to “The Lighthouse Faith” podcast, she highlighted faith’s impact. “Evangelical couples are the least likely to divorce [and] less likely than secular couples. And here’s the real surprise. Evangelical couples have the lowest rates of domestic violence of any major group in America. And so they completely contradict the media message that we’re getting today.” Fr Louh discussed how the Orthodox practice of crowning a wedded couple emphasizes their new spiritual commitment. “Not only are the husband and wife becoming like the king and queen over this new church or over this new family, but more importantly, it is revealing to them that ‘I need to die for us.’ In other words, my ego, my own will, my own personal desires now take second place to that. What’s in the best interest for our family?” He also stressed that God is a much firmer foundation than feelings, which can wane during the years. “I don’t think God yearned for us to be in a marriage that we’re unhappy with. But I think sometimes when we have the wrong kind of foundation that we’re building the relationship upon, that ends up having a cascading effect years and years down the road.”