The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love by Tim Lahaye

such a couple on their wedding trip.
    2. All prospective brides should visit their doctor several weeks before the wedding, discussing with him the advisability of breaking the hymen in the privacy of his office. If the doctor’s examination shows that the hymen is thick and may obstruct sexual intercourse, she should consider letting him stretch it or cut it to avoid unnecessary pain and bleeding during intercourse. However, if the doctor feels she will have no serious difficulty and if the bride chooses, she may wish to leave it intact for her wedding night. In this enlightened age a bridegroom would rather have the hymen surgically removed in advance to reduce the possibility of causing pain to his virtuous young bride. Another alternative is digital stretching, which the husband can do on their wedding night, but this will require instructions from their doctor. In today’s active world many virgins have broken the hymen in accidents while bicycling or horseback riding, or doctors may have had to dilate it because of menstrual difficulties.
    The bride should discuss the matter of contraceptives with her doctor. We consider this in greater detail in chapter 12, but it is important for the bride and groom to realize that the fear of pregnancy can seriously detract from the joy of a honeymoon. The young couple should know each other’s feelings and decide whether they are prepared to start a family right after marriage or not. If they plan on a short delay, the doctor can advise them on a good, safe contraceptive.
    3. It is a rare bride who will be able to provide sufficient natural vaginal lubricant on her honeymoon to avoid painful sensations during the act of love. This possibility can be eliminated by securing a tube of surgical jelly from the druggist, or she may wish to discuss this with her doctor, who can prescribe an adequate preparation for her. She would be advised to have it handy for her husband to use at the proper time.
    4. The vaginal exercise program designed by Dr. Arnold Kegel is described in chapter 10. All brides-to-be should become aware of the muscles used and should practice Dr. Kegel’s exercises several weeks before the wedding. The program will acquaint her with muscle control, about which most women know nothing, and in addition will magnify her potential sexual feeling during lovemaking. It will also provide her with a means of exciting her husband beyond his fondest dreams. Learning these exercises will further assist them in learning to reach simultaneous orgasms. The bride should carefully study chapter 10 on feminine response.

Preliminary Considerations
     
    We have noted that most women are more romantic than men. “Women are incurably romantic” came the comment from one analyst. Instead of fighting against that fact, the wise husband will cooperate with this need in his wife’s heart. Because the honeymoon is the culmination of a girl’s lifetime dreams, a loving husband will make every effort to fulfill them.
    When I look back on our honeymoon, I have to admit that I planned everything wrong. Bev and I were married on a Saturday night in her home church. An old friend and his wife who came to the wedding decided to join us at our apartment while he gave me a one-hour lecture on the “facts of life.” This took place after the reception, pictures, and packing of our car. We went to bed at 1:45 A.M.! Our first married day was spent driving for twelve hours, then stopping about 8 P.M. in a motel room somewhere in the mountains of Kentucky. The next day we arrived in Greenville, South Carolina, where another ministerial student and I were building a trailer court for married students. I promptly went back to work. About the only clear lesson Bev learned from that hectic trip was to begin adjusting immediately to the insane pace to which I have subjected her for over forty exciting years.
    If I had known then what I know now, I would have planned those few days after the wedding