A Start-To-Finish Guide To A Student Wedding: How To Organize A Wedding Ceremony During Studying

Being a student can be challenging – there are so many exams to prepare for and so little time on your hands. Adding wedding planning to your list of attributes can be an overwhelming experience. But hey! If the time has come, you cannot forget about it and postpone it until you graduate. You’ve got to get married while in college! This is extremely exciting and an important part of your life. 

To do that, however, you must be organized and efficient. If you’re not both of these things, you might end up disappointed either with your wedding or your grades. Learning how to organize a wedding while in college can be tricky, but it’s definitely not impossible – and you’re most definitely on the right track.

Stick to the schedule no matter what

Since your responsibilities will multiply during this time of year, structure is essential. You must stay on top of your assignments and prepare the wedding at the same time, so developing efficient organization skills is crucial. 

• Keep an agenda with you at all times and write down all of your responsibilities. If you don’t know what follows next, you might mix up jobs and lose things. Design your own calendar and book times for each activity as it comes. 
• Block out times for meetings or assignments that cannot be changed. These events are the most important in your calendar, since you will not be able to postpone them. Make them a priority but keep in mind your other responsibilities by constantly checking your agenda.
• Take one thing at a time. Make sure that you breathe in between. You might be a tiny bit overwhelmed, but if you take it step by step everything will turn out just fine. Remember that everything on your list needs time and attention, so dividing your focus into too many parts won’t help. Try to focus on one thing at a time and take baby steps. This will boost your productivity. 
• Don’t forget about your breaks. Schedule them in and do not skip them. We’ll discuss this later, but keep in mind that they’re important for you.
• Be realistic when creating your plan. Half of your time should be spent on organizing this important life event, but the other half should be spent on homework. You’re still in college after all, so your academic life should technically come first. If you feel like you cannot do both at the same time, you could always hire professional essay helpers to do the job for you. There are many consultants out there that can help you out with your homework while you deal with the more important things in your life. And let’s be honest, how often will you get married as a student? You need time to plan a wedding. And since this is the most important event in your life, get help if you truly need it, don’t hesitate to reach out to someone. 

Sticking to the schedule is not as complicated when you know exactly what you have to do. This is why you should keep an agenda with you all the time, organize your schedule according to priorities, take things slowly but surely, and include breaks in your schedule. Also, be realistic and reach out for help if you need it. Easy, right?

Plan everything ahead

We designed a plan for you, so check out these tips and tricks and see how they fit into your schedule. Planning everything ahead can be complicated, so here’s how you should divide your responsibilities. 

• 12 months out. This is where you determine your budget and make your guest list. Give your invitees enough time to accept or deny your invitation so you don’t stress out during your wedding. You could hire a wedding planner if things become too much to handle, but you should allow at least one year before the wedding for preparations to be made. This would also be where you or your helper select the venue and the caterer and decide the overall theme of the wedding. 
• 11 months out. Choose a color theme for your party and hire vendors since they book up so quickly. Choose a photographer, a band or a DJ, and a videographer. 
• 10 months out. This is my favorite part – start shopping for a wedding dress/suit and book the hotel/rooms for guests. You could create a wedding website and include the rules here, if needed. Don’t forget to take your engagement photos and start looking for invitations. 
• 9 months out. Buy your wedding dress and let everyone know that the wedding is happening. Make it official!
• 8 months out. This is where you register for gifts, select the bridesmaids’ dresses and schedule the fittings within the months. You should also meet with all your potential florists asap. 
• 7 months out. Book your favorite venue and hire the ceremony musicians. Don’t forget to order rental items and hire an officiant, if you’re not marrying in a house of worship.  
• 6 months out. Halfway there! Hire a lighting technician to make sure your lights are on point when the time comes. 
• 5 months out. If your guests need transportation, book it now, and book special transportation along with it (e.g., limo). This is the time to book the honeymoon as well and buy or rent a tuxedo, if you’re the groom. 
• 4 months out. Have your final tasting with the caterer and choose your favorite cake flavor. Buy a wedding band and select the groomsmen’s attire. Schedule the required fittings. Girls, go for a hair and makeup trial at your favorite salon.
• 3 months out. Order the invitations and hire a calligrapher to be fancy! Create or plan out your menu, book a photo-booth rental, and write your vows. 
• 2 months out. Send the invitations and schedule the first dress fitting. Pick up your marriage license if you haven’t yet and buy wedding-party gifts!
• 1 month out. Assemble your gift bags and pay your vendors in full. Create a sitting chart and have a final venue walk-through.

The final week before the wedding shouldn’t be too full. This is where you take time for yourself; check the final point for more advice.  

Manage your budget responsibly

Creating your wedding budget is one of the first steps on the list above. Check this out, it might come in handy.

• Count your cash and see how much money you’ve got to spend. Count your savings, the amount you can afford to set aside from your income, and any other contributions from parents or friends. 
• Track your spending. Know exactly how much each item/service/clothing piece will be.
• Prepare for extra fees such as vendor transportation, setup and breakdown fees, custom cocktails, digital access, envelope stuffing, and wedding planner, if you’re taking that route. 
• Save money if you can. If things get too expensive, you can always change the venue and find a more affordable option. You could also shorten the guest list (oops!) or host both the ceremony and reception in the same place. Forget about hiring a live band and say no to any other upgrades that sound tempting.

Prioritize your tasks

If you know that something important comes up for school, then take one or two weeks off from your wedding planning duties and focus on school. As I mentioned earlier, school should come first no matter what. If you fail your classes and get married, you might still not be able to start a new life happily – repeating one year of school is never fun. This is why you should have a checklist easy to access at all times. Write down everything that you must do on that checklist and postpone this week’s activities in favor of the exam. If you and your spouse are not taking the same classes, you could also ask them to help if they can.

Make time to relax

Your last week before the wedding should not be too stressful, you want to have everything in order by now. You want to breathe and take time to realize what is truly happening. Being so preoccupied with planning or school doesn’t help you seize the day, so take this time for yourself. 

This is when you should refresh your hair color, get your eyebrows and nails done, get a massage, pack your bags for the exciting honeymoon, clean your ring if you need to, and practice your vows out loud. 

The most important questions to ask before organizing the perfect wedding:

• Think about the amount of money you would like to spend on the wedding before starting to plan it. Maybe you’re more tempted to go for a longer honeymoon – and that is totally fine. 
• Figure out where you want to get married ahead of time if you want to book your favorite spot. 
• Pick your favorite season (and day, for that matter) for your ceremony; you will never forget it.
• Figure out if you want a small or big wedding.