HOW TO POSTPONE? The Shreveport Times tackles the sensitive issue of how to postpone or end your wedding engagement.

Some strategies:

--"We need to talk about something important to us both. There are some areas of our relationship that continue to cause me to doubt our compatibility. For the sake of both our happiness, maybe we should put our wedding plans on hold while we work on these issues. Maybe I need to get counseling from a third party professional. I’ll let you know when we can talk again. Maybe you will want to do the same."

--"Deciding to share one’s life experiences with another is a major decision that can result in happiness or disappointment. Marriage is a lifelong commitment and I want us to do all that we know to do before we continue with wedding plans. If we know something is not right before the wedding, it seems there may be more that may come up after the wedding. If it isn’t going to be good for both of us, then we need to know now."

--"There is something that continues to bother me and our commitment for marriage has become scary. I want marriage to be a lifetime of happiness and for now I need to have some time to think without having firm wedding plans. Maybe premarital counseling will be best for me, if not for us, and for now the ring needs to be returned."