Grad School and Wedding

Hey! I’m also doing my PhD and will be graduating in 2022 if everything works out. We’ve opted for a summer wedding next year because the balance of job hunting, finishing up a thesis, and possibly moving for work can be quite stressful from what I’ve seen from my peers. I don’t think I could personally handle juggling a wedding and a dissertation, but all the power to your fiancé who seems very on top of his game with wedding planning while being in school. My fiancé loves planning but doesn’t have to worry about school... just yet LOL.
Anyways! If you’re still looking to do a summer wedding next year or in 2022, I would suggest asking about weekday weddings for a discount if your not entirely pleased with your date selection. My venue gave me an amazing deal for my 45-50 guests for a Monday wedding. Seems odd but it’s local for almost everyone and it’ll be our 5 yr anniversary together.

View Quoted Comment Ok! Thanks! And congrats you're close!! He has a ways to go haha. Yeah so he will be graduating with his MA May 2022, so it would be in between fall and his last semester. But he is worried about it being in the summer (or at least late summer) after he graduates because he will find out in April for sure where he will be going for his Phd, and then we will need to make plans to move, and I’ll need to job hunt, and stuff. So that will be busy too, plus I was seeing on other boards that right after graduation is stressful because the weeks leading up to a wedding are stressful and he will be finishing up school (well for his MA). I just dont know what’s better!

Fall break 2021 seems like a good time, I would also say Spring Break 2022 could be good too. I got engaged first semester of nursing school 2016 and couldn’t imagine trying to plan & budget a wedding until after (we finally got hitched this year)

I would say that right after the holidays people might not want to travel so I would be worried guests might not attend a January wedding. Another concern is the weather. Depending on where you live January can be snow, ice, etc. which would make traveling difficult. If you want it in the summer of 2021, your choices would be limited, but you might still be able to find a venue. I don't think it would hurt to reach out to some to see what they might have available. I would be open to Friday and Sunday weddings.

As a young professional no longer in school, my two cents is that you should get married when you want to be married because life doesn't slow down. FH and I are both working long hours, studying for certification tests, and moving, all while planning a wedding. I know two couples who had their weddings the week after finals ended and it was fine. In your case, you only have a groom taking finals, so he can just be less engaged in the wedding planning leading up (my FH has been involved very little and is happy that way). If you want to do a Christmas break wedding, go for it and just be okay with some declines from guests who don't want to travel. I've been to a wedding during this time and pretty much everyone came. If you do summer 2021, just have a broader venue search. The beginning of the semester is typically the least busy time, so late summer seems perfect.

I got married in January in grad school. It was my last semester and I was student teaching. It was perfect for us. I will say planing while in school was a lot, but I’m gonna guess you’ll do most of the heavy lifting on planning.
We had a lot of declines but not because of the holidays being so close. We actually had family that chose not to travel for Christmas and come to the wedding instead. Where we live we hardly ever get snow, but sure enough on our wedding night we got a nasty slushy rain/snow mix that did slightly accumulate. This did cause some guests to leave early.
I’d say go for it! Don’t put off getting married. Plus winter is off season so you *could* get discounts on vendors and you’ll pretty much have your pick on who ever you want to use.

My brother and his wife did their wedding 12/27. She’s a teacher and didn’t want a summer wedding so opted for right after Christmas. Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t work but they got married out of state and so many people traveled for it and it was well attended! That time between Christmas and New Years is always down time in my opinion and it seemed their guests felt the same way. They also got to take their honeymoon and get back before schools reopened after the New Year.

Agree with above that life doesn't slow down. I had a Christmas wedding and it was beautiful, but even that required a lot of prep in the fall. But you can work around it. Venue hunt on the weekends, hire a wedding planner, etc. You shouldn't let grad school keep you from planning. You should just plan it far enough out that you can plan slowly. The few weeks before will be busy so if you opt for a Christmas wedding, make sure there's at least two weeks before his last final/paper/thesis and the wedding.

I am currently going for my MS and will probably graduate May 2022, maybe earlier. Our wedding is scheduled for January 27,2022. It might be during the first week of classes, but I think it’ll work out fine. I could understand not wanting the wedding in the middle of the semester that sounds like it could be stressful. We’re planning on going on a honeymoon late May or early June. Hoping to make it a longer trip and we can also celebrate my graduation and our birthdays (both in May). I am also trying to work on planning on diy projects during the summer and winter breaks as much as possible between now and then.

View Quoted Comment Yeah I can imagine! Props to you for being so supportive through his academic journey. As a grad student, I can’t tell you enough how important and wonderful it is to have someone at home who is your rock.

View Quoted Comment I see that, the only thing is spring 2022 is during his last semester, he’ll be graduating so he’s going to be super busy

View Quoted Comment Awww thank you, I have heard him say this!

View Quoted Comment That’s exactly what I’m thinking! I was thinking like Jan 8-9 so its a week after NYE, i feel like that isn’t too close to the both holidays? He could wither be going back that next monday or if they have a winter session he will have a longer break. And i know about the weather, i feel like we dont het a lot snow in Dec. and Jan. Anymore its mostly Feb. and Mar. and yes! Off season haha i appreciate your thoughts

View Quoted Comment Thats awesome! I was thinking early January after NYE, I wonder if people would travel then too, but I feel like the people who have to be there and wouldn’t miss it would be there

View Quoted Comment If having a wedding during a pandemic has taught me anything, it’s just to do us and not worry about others. We know those closest will be there and that’s all that matters. I’d say pick the date you want. Those closest to you will come.

View Quoted Comment Yeah thanks, I’ll still look in to summer 2021, and if we can make that work great! The thing about snow is , its possible but i feel like we haven’t gotten a lot of that in Dec. Jan. Like we used to!

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That's true about the snow, but I still think it is something you need to factor in especially if you would have a lot of guests traveling from out of town. I would also factor in the holidays and people will have most likely just gotten done traveling for Thanksgiving, Christmas and possibly New Year so traveling for something else might not be possible for everyone. Even if they didn't travel, they might not have the extra money because they spent it on gifts/travel or the time to take off work.

I myself am in grad school and I'm actually taking the semester of my wedding/honeymoon off. I also did not want to be stressed with going through the wedding festivities while managing my course load and I definitely didn't want to have to do any work while away on my honeymoon! I really can't push my wedding out any further because after my currently scheduled wedding date is when I need to complete my internship (+ 40 hour work weeks).

Summer 2021 is probably pretty booked up but it is still worth a shot to look and inquire with some venues. I was honestly surprised at how much was still available for June 2021 when I originally inquired (we did March 2021 instead since it was cheaper/discounts)

I also got married in the middle of my PhD program. Opting for a summer wedding shortly after the spring term finished was the best decision I could have made. Anything during the fall or spring would have been impossible given the demands of my program. Even though things are booking quickly for summer 2021, I'd still aim to have a wedding then. I'm sure there are still plenty of Sunday and Friday dates available.

I think that is a great idea! My fiance is in his residency in med school and it was SUPER hard finding time where had has off or didn't have to study for exams. Plus waiting on a honeymoon isn't the worst. It give you more time to save and maybe splurge on the perfect place! We were planning a mini moon after our wedding for 5 days but we cancelled due to COVID. Instead we're just splurging extra on our honeymoon sometime in 2021.