It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind excitement of getting married. Most people envision the wedding planning, getting a house, maybe having kids, and whatever else might fit into their “live happily ever after” dream.

But seldomly do engaged couples tackle the tough questions that are crucial in making a marriage work. Questions like “How will we handle unemployment?” and “Who will take out the trash?” and “How will we deal with each other’s annoying habits over 10 years?”

Author Michael Webb has compiled over 1000 questions for couples in his e-book “1000 Questions for Couples.” Do you really need to ask 1000 questions? Maybe not, but you’d be surprised how many people marry someone without knowing the other person’s credit score or background information, let alone 1000 other details. The point of all these questions is not to drive you and your future beloved crazy, but to help each other prepare for a life together and make sure things have a 99% success rate instead of ending up divorced and miserable a few years down the road.

While you might not be ready to ask 1000 questions, we’ve put together 10 questions you and your partner need to discuss now - before you think of what dress you’re going to wear or what style of invitations you want to send.

1. What are my partner’s likes and dislikes? How do these relate to my likes and dislikes?
2. What spiritual/political beliefs does my partner have? How do these relate to my own? What differences in customs or opinions might we face because of these beliefs?
3. What is my partner’s credit score? Has my partner ever been convicted of a crime? What jobs has my partner held? What education has my partner received?
4. Do I or my partner or any of our immediate family members have any medical conditions, illnesses, disabilities or other special needs? How might this affect our life together?
5. What life goals for career, family, or other personal success do my partner and I share? What goals are different? How will we work through these differences? How will we help each other reach our goals?
6. How will my partner and I manage our finances? Who will be the provider? What will we do in the event of loss of income? Is a pre-nuptial agreement necessary? How will we pay our bills, manage accounts, set aside savings, and handle large purchases
7. How will we settle disagreements and differences of opinions? What is our fighting style? How do we resolve problems?
8. How will handle each other’s families and friends? What Holiday customs will we need to honor? What boundaries will be set?
9. What will we do to keep our marriage thriving? What will we do in the case that one of us feels the relationship is stale or strained? Will we agree to go to counseling if we ever decide one day to not be married to each other?
10. What are the three most important things to us in marriage? What are our expectations of marriage?

No, these questions aren’t meant to scare you. But hopefully by asking these questions now instead of later, you and your partner will be better prepared to succeed in making your happy ever after ending a reality.

This article written by Chelle is featured on Associated Content. If you’d like to read additional AC articles by Chelle, click here.