Classes take backseat to wedding plans

It can be difficult to relax during the last few weeks of school, but some students couple the stress of exams with a feat much more taxing than the melody of wedding bells would initially inspire. Alecia Ott, a junior from Signal Mountain, Tenn., said planning a wedding, while in college, can be overwhelming, particularly during the last week of the semester.

"It's been a little stressful trying to assemble wedding invitations while writing my midterm paper," she said.

According to Ott, supportive bridesmaids, friends and family can be extremely helpful with picking up the extra slack in these situations.

UTC's Patten Chapel was an optional venue in the beginning for the wedding, but the lack of a neighboring reception hall quickly eliminated it, Ott said.

"The main reason we didn't look into [Patten Chapel] more is because my fiancé's family isn't from Chattanooga and doesn't know the area," Ott said. "We just need to be able to get them to one place."

The wedding plans were made around the academic schedule, so the pressures of school would not show up as an uninvited guest, she said.

"The whole week before my wedding I'm going to be a basket case," Ott said. "I have finals that week, my rehearsal dinner, and then I get married."

Jesse Cox, a Chattanooga senior, said he thinks it is difficult to try to find time for school, student teaching and soccer practice while not stressing about his upcoming wedding.

Cox said he tries to not miss his student teaching but is not very concerned with missing a few of his classes.

Cox said: "I'm trying to put school in front of the planning. My fiancé misses classes all the time to come visit me so we can plan and put things together for the wedding."

He said he is going to miss another week of school and a few more days of work to continue making appointments and deadlines for his wedding.

Aaron Romano, a senior from Orange Park, Fla., said he and his fiancé want a fall wedding.

Romano said he and his fiance plan to get married during the weekend of fall break in an attempt to miss the least amount of school possible.

"I planned my class schedule for next semester around the honeymoon so I would have more time to spend on the honeymoon," Romano said.

He said his wedding will be in Townsend, Tenn., and he and his fiance are constantly making trips during the weekends and breaks from school to drive there and continue planning their wedding.

Whitney Irwin, a senior from Franklin, Tenn., said she has been engaged since last July but does not plan to get married until sometime next spring.

She said her wedding plans so far have been minimal because both she and her fiancé want to wait to get married until after they have graduated from UTC.

Making wedding plans while in school might be stressful but actually being married while still in school would be even more so, she said.

Irwin said: "My main concern was being able to pay for everything like school loans and having job security. It's just easier for us.