Advice on Wedding Planning while in College

Welcome to WW, Vanity! It's doable, going to college & wedding planning, but if you are able to put it off so you can focus on your studies, I think that'd be your best bet. Honestly, school should come first, & waiting an extra year to be married so you're both on your feet certainly isn't a bad thing.

But if you don't want to wait, organization is key. Plan wedding time like you do study time. Good thing is you have plenty of time to do the big things. Figure out a budget first (what you and FH can afford), & that'll help determine the size of the guest list & what venues you can afford. The WW tools are great to keep you on time.

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I am 20 and a senior in college, working and planning a wedding. The only thing you can really do is manage your time extremely well, and learn to say no to people. I have had to tell people no to certain things, because I can't take anymore on my plate. It is hard to do, but it helps. You also have to maximize the off-school time. Weekends usually are devoted to family, FH, relaxing, and catching up on HW. I tried to get a lot of the stressfull things done over the summer (finding a photographer, etc). Now, I can use wedding planning as my break from HW and school. I enjoy the DIYs and planning, so I work on that as my way of relaxing, in a way. It looks like you still have plenty of time, so don't worry

I'm finishing up my undergrad in may and planning an Oct wedding. When I'm at school I try to do as much school work as I possibly can and then when I'm home I try to do wedding stuff. but right now school seems more important I'm only in the beginning stages of planning. Like Katelin said ... just budget time, you have to set your priority and go from there!

I roomed with a girl my senior year of undergrad who was planning her wedding and going to school full time as a music major. On top of that, her family had some health issues, etc. She was so stressed, but it happened!

Be wise with your time and don't procrastinate. Budget not only your money, but also your time. I would say, you'd definitely have to be willing to be very busy and expect your grades to drop. If that isn't an option for you, try to postpone if you can so you can make the most of school breaks for planning, but not feel the pressure of getting it all done at once!

Be very strong at sticking to your schedule of what needs to be done when. Give yourself plenty of time for school work when you work out your schedule.

Welcome to the WeddingWire Community @Vanity! You've come to the perfect place for support, advice, suggestions, ideas, critiques ... and anything else related to the whirlwind of wedding planning!

I look forward to seeing you around the boards

Thank you all for the great advice!! You really helped me out a lot!!!

I just graduated from college in May so I feel your pain. The main thing is time management. I did alot on my breaks and when I was bored. Just remember to stay focused because your main concern is finishing school first. You still have time to plan since yours is 2014. Good luck!

@Karis Thank you!

It is doable, I HOPE. I am working 55 hours a week plus an hour commute each day and go to school full time. Yeaaa. This should be interesting. I took 3 online classes though to limit my time on campus. I am well aware that procrastinating can't happen. So I will try to finish the two classes that I can finish at my own pace early on so I can focus in wedding stuff as it gets closer. I have a feeling this I gonna e a suicide mission lol.

I am a fulltime student, work and volunteer. I am going 7 days a week. I make suggestions and my mom will shoot me an email. Of course she is the planning queen and had everything done down to the guys ties a year out. She says we are down to the food and if all else fails we will order mcdonalds. I know we wont but that is her joke as we don't eat fast food. I know I am really lucky but I think the key is planning as early as you can. I do my school work when I am at school. I stay between classes even though I have a 5 hr break three days a week between classes. I just go to the library it is my way to maintain focus on the school work. If we need to do wedding stuff it is usually for a couple hours before church on sunday. I get up at 5 am and go to bed at 10 pm.

Thank you MJ!

I got married the first time while working full-time, going to law school, and on law review. The biggest suggestions I can make are:

1. Simplify as much as possible. For example, the reception for my first wedding was a luncheon in a restaurant we took over for the occasion. That meant we could deal with one vendor for everything from food to decorations, instead of juggling a bunch of them. You can skip attendants, or at least limit the number. Before planning elaborate decorations, think about whether you really need them.

(cont.)

2. There are two of you having this wedding, so there should be two of you planning it. Start by working out a general idea of what you want the wedding to look like (e.g., seated dinner with dancing? camping weekend? elegant jazz brunch?), a budget, and a guest list. Then sit down with one of the many checklists on the Internet, and divide up the tasks between you.

(cont.)

3. Learn not to worry about controlling everything. The only way to have your wedding "perfect" (in the sense of exactly what you want) is to do everything yourself, and not take even your FI's views into account. However, the same could be said for your life in general--if you want everything your own way, don't get married. The wedding is great practice for marriage, in that you need to learn to work together, compromise on things, and accept that he'll screw up some things. If you micromanage, he'll end up feeling like it's not worth it to do his share, and you'll end up resentful that you have to do everything. Conversely, if his planning some part of the wedding means that he gets to have some things he specifically likes in that part of the wedding, it gives him more incentive to do the work.

(cont.)

4. If you don't have time to do everything yourself, prioritize. If you accept offers of help (from friends, family, future in-laws), they won't do things exactly the way you would. However, your studies are more important than having the perfect wedding day. So keep the tasks for yourself that are really critical to you and that you have time to do, and accept that other things may be done a little differently than what you would consider ideal.

Thank You!!

I am a college student, a mother to a 19month old boy, and working! I will be honest its not the easiest but like you I am a 2014 bride. I have my venue locked in and making payments and my bp picked.

I would just maybe lock down the venue first so you know your date is secure. If your budget allows for it maybe an inclusive venue so all you really have to do is make decisions and pick minimal vendors (photographer, florist, dj, videographer, etc.). Also, there are tons of checklists, the one on here is very helpful!

P.s. Yay for 2014 brides!!!

Congrats and happy planning!

Thank you!

That is the reason I decided to wait the extra year because I'm a junior in college, working full-time and trying to plan my wedding. I found a venue that is almost all-inclusive. I think it will take a lot off my plate and now I only have to find a photographer, flowers, live music and a cake! Then, my wedding is planned. It costs a little bit more money, but it is worth not having as much stress.

I'm a junior...and I haven't had any issues yet. But we will see come the spring semester and my wedding is in May, hopefully not the same week as finals...lol.