getting married b/w 2nd and 3rd year?

[mele]

Hey all,

Just curious whether it is impossible to try to get married during the summer between your 2nd and 3rd year of med school. I'm most concerned about trying to plan a wedding while studying for the USMLE. Sounds daunting, especially since as the woman I will probably be doing most of the planning Juggling a wedding with the USMLE does not sound much fun to me. What are some better alternatives to that time frame?

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[kak]

I was just married at Sandals Grand Bahamian over spring break of 3rd year. We had put A LOT of thought into this decision. Here's the basic thought process:
1. I will have little/no time to plan this... what are my options? Well, Sandals has this weddingmoon thing where they take care of everything for you (flowers, paperwork, minister, cake, etc) and it's included in your stay depending on which room class you stay in (but hey, it's your honeymoon!)
2. OK, this sounds good, but what about my family? Well, both of us have relatively small families and they were pretty understanding of my time crunch for planning a more traditional ceremony. So both sets of parents came along for a few days of vacation to see the ceremony then left the next day. It worked well, they enjoyed it lots!
3. My future husband has a job that pays money. I am a student with no money. If we marry before Spring of 3rd yr I will need to declare *something* for income instead of *nothing*. This could affect my funding... and I am poor enough right now! This is why we were married this past Spring break :wink:

 

[Nanon]

For the hurried bride on a budget...

1) Start way, way ahead of time if you can. Like a year. Start with finding your dress, then make the invitations. (It's easier than you think, and they can be absolutely beautiful. If you want suggestions on how to make really gorgeous invites, pm me.) Find a place that doesn't need too much decorating, like a beautiful church or a gorgeous outdoor location. Or, you could get married in a pub, like I did! :wink: Even better if the place has facilties attached for the reception. Do everything on weekends, and one step at a time.

2) KEEP IT SMALL! 60 guests or less. And keep your wedding party small, or let them wear their prettiest black dresses (that's what I did). If your brides maids must match, don't have more than three - organizing fittings, hairdos, flowers and all that junk takes forever, even with three people.

3) Delegate responsibility, be clear about what you want, and then accept their interpretation of what you want. I've found that in delegating, it helps ones nerves if you don't micro-manage everything. Make sure, though, that you trust the person's taste - they may have better ideas than you do! This is a big part of the idea behind resort weddings.

4) Whatever you do, make sure you're having fun! Allow yourself to be really, really creative. Some of the best, most meaningful weddings I've ever been to have been intimate, inspired events that completely mirrored the couple getting married, rather than the society marrying them. Recently, my father got married on the fly on top of a mountain overlooking the ocean. We had one week notice. There were no attendants, except us kids. Dad and brothers wore a tux, I wore a nice suit, bride wore a beautiful gold gown made especially for her. They kissed to seal their vows at the moment the sun went down. Not a dry eye to be seen! After, the family went to dinner at a great restaurant, got drunk and told stories. It's not something I'm likely to forget...

Hope this helps!

Nanon