SUSTAIN SAN DIEGO 

2019 RETREAT RECAP

We hosted three couples at SUSTAIN San Diego in a wonderful destination city that happens to also be where we live….SAN DIEGO!  We chose some pretty wonderful accommodations as the backdrop for this four-day three-night retreat. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe was the perfect fit for this cozy, winter, couples retreat to kick off the new year of 2019 with intention and purpose.  In our minds, it was another complete success!

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About The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe: This chic, modern property is only a 4-minute walk into the historic town of Rancho Santa Fe, California. As a four-star resort, it houses a collection of elegant country-style rooms which feature a wood-burning fireplace, a perfect way to relax during our winter retreat. 

Once all three couples arrived at SUSTAIN San Diego, we hosted a wine and cheese evening in the main suite.  We lit the fireplace, got Frank Sinatra playing, and toasting to the start of a great couple of days.  None of the couples knew each other coming into our time together, so this wine and cheese reception really set the tone for the group dynamic and we all had a blast! 

Before they left to head back to their suuuuper luxurious rooms complete with slippers, robes, and clawfoot bathtubs, we made sure that each couple grabbed their welcome gift consisting of notebooks, bath salts, candles, chocolate, and their wedding vows printed and framed for them.

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SUSTAIN Marriage Retreat was more than just a vacation. In these few days together, we dove into practical skills to apply to each relationship and curated experiences that facilitated deeper connection.

Each morning, Meg led the group in morning sessions full of helpful information and practical application for building intimacy and friendship, navigating conflict, and pursuing dreams together, all based in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a highly effective, evidence-based approach to couples therapy.

In the afternoons, Garrett photographed each couple in different locations surrounding the Inn.  The property itself is so beautiful that they didn’t have to go very far to find the prime spots!  The town of Rancho Santa Fe also has some quaint charm that provided a bit of diversity for each shoot.

We started each morning with fresh, continental-style breakfast including coffee, orange juice (aka mimosas!), bagels, yogurt, eggs, and fruit!  We wanted everyone to have their fill and have strong comfy start to our time together. People being hungry or without a mimosa is one of our pet peeves!

On the second night, we hosted another casual wine and cheese time for anyone who wanted to join and this provided some more intimate conversation, processing of the day’s session, and just some great get-to-know-you time with our couples.

After the morning group times, each couple had the rest of the day to explore San Diego and have in-depth conversations using specific insights and prompts given to them that morning.  Some of the feedback was that this time was SO SO helpful and necessary and that many of them wouldn’t have had these conversations if there wasn’t time set aside or specific prompts to do so.  

We also loved hearing about what each couple chose to do during their free time because San Diego has so much to offer!  

The final night, we had an impromptu cocktail meetup at the bar at the inn.  That is when we knew that our couples were really clicking and loving the value of the group dynamic!  The group chemistry and support has been one of the highlights of each retreat so far. We love the connections and friendships that form from just a few short days together….but when you’re diving into some real stuff, this is just what tends to happen.  We love it.

SUSTAIN San Diego was wonderful!  We love that each couple had kids, as this provided a different experience from our SUSTAIN Paris retreat.  Both were equally special and impactful, but now we know that SUSTAIN is possible with kids or without, which is helpful as we have a son coming in just a few weeks!

We left our time together feeling fresh, rejuvenated, joyful, grateful, and humbled by the relationships we had the chance to form and the stories we were invited into.  There will be more retreats…if you want more info, be sure to sign up for our mailing list here! 

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SUSTAIN Marriage Retreat was dreamed and launched with you in mind. 

And you can read a little more about that process HERE

Hello! We’re The Richardsons! 

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