2008 Woodie Awards
College football games override possible wedding dates
By: Evan Bland
Issue date: 7/16/07 Section: Features
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Those words, written by philosopher George Santayana in 1905, probably weren't intended as advice on when to schedule wedding dates.
Or more accurately, when not to.
For decades, as brides and grooms have decided when their weddings will be, many have been snubbed by their guests for overlooking an essential point for a problem-free day of marriage.
Don't do it on a college football Saturday.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau report released in 2003, roughly 2.3 million marry in the United States each year. Among those, August is the second-most popular month for couples to wed, with 10.2 percent of marriages taking place then. This is followed closely by September and October.
Kyle and Megan Schuelke were lucky - and smart. The couple married in Lincoln in the spring 2006, though they considered a fall nuptial.
The Schuelkes said planning their wedding around a football game, especially Nebraska Cornhusker football, would have made an already tough task nearly impossible.
"Neither of us wanted to have it on a Husker game day, it would be stupid," Kyle said. "It would be so hard to plan on how many people were going to show up. We even looked at trying to get a non-game Saturday, and (churches) were booked up like a year in advance."
Unlike the Schuelkes, Susie Joyce got married in Lincoln on Sept. 17, 2005. It just so happened that the Huskers were also in town, beating Pittsburgh 7-6 on the same day.
Joyce and her husband, Thomas, were rushing to get married before the autumn chill hit. The couple, who own a wedding officiating service in town, managed to schedule their ceremony a few hours after the game ended, though some people still never showed up.
"Nowadays people don't RSVP," Susie Joyce said. "It got to a point where it was nice we had a good turnout, but we would have invited others if we knew some of them wouldn't come because of football."
Those words, written by philosopher George Santayana in 1905, probably weren't intended as advice on when to schedule wedding dates.
Or more accurately, when not to.
For decades, as brides and grooms have decided when their weddings will be, many have been snubbed by their guests for overlooking an essential point for a problem-free day of marriage.
Don't do it on a college football Saturday.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau report released in 2003, roughly 2.3 million marry in the United States each year. Among those, August is the second-most popular month for couples to wed, with 10.2 percent of marriages taking place then. This is followed closely by September and October.
Kyle and Megan Schuelke were lucky - and smart. The couple married in Lincoln in the spring 2006, though they considered a fall nuptial.
The Schuelkes said planning their wedding around a football game, especially Nebraska Cornhusker football, would have made an already tough task nearly impossible.
"Neither of us wanted to have it on a Husker game day, it would be stupid," Kyle said. "It would be so hard to plan on how many people were going to show up. We even looked at trying to get a non-game Saturday, and (churches) were booked up like a year in advance."
Unlike the Schuelkes, Susie Joyce got married in Lincoln on Sept. 17, 2005. It just so happened that the Huskers were also in town, beating Pittsburgh 7-6 on the same day.
Joyce and her husband, Thomas, were rushing to get married before the autumn chill hit. The couple, who own a wedding officiating service in town, managed to schedule their ceremony a few hours after the game ended, though some people still never showed up.
"Nowadays people don't RSVP," Susie Joyce said. "It got to a point where it was nice we had a good turnout, but we would have invited others if we knew some of them wouldn't come because of football."
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
John
posted 7/15/07 @ 11:20 PM EST
This rings very true to die hard Nebraska fans all the way out in the Pacific Northwest. My oldest brother finally married his high school sweetheart after 6 or 7 years of dating. (Continued…)
Huskermike
posted 7/16/07 @ 9:31 AM EST
My wife and I were married on Saturday September 3rd, 1994. We are die hard Husker fans and believe it or not the football team wasn't playing that Saturday. (Continued…)
James
posted 7/16/07 @ 12:36 PM EST
I hope nobody gets the impression that this only happens in Nebraska. It happens in Oklahoma, Tennessee and any other state that has strong college football followings. (Continued…)
Red Stripe
posted 7/16/07 @ 1:18 PM EST
A wedding vs. a Husker football game? Are you kidding me? To what lows as a society have we fallen?
You're talking about something Holy and a lifelong commitment here. (Continued…)
matt
posted 7/16/07 @ 1:41 PM EST
Great story.
Dan Gutierrez
posted 7/16/07 @ 3:01 PM EST
I was married on 11/19/95 which was a Sunday. Don't care if I miss a pro game, but Football Saturday is sacred. GO BIG RED!!!
Husker75
posted 7/16/07 @ 3:23 PM EST
I'm a believer. I married my wife on September 21, 1996 and all you Cornhuskers fans will remember that date - We lost to Arizona St that evening ending our 25 game win stretch! At least I'll always remember my anniversary!
Blue Wayne
posted 7/16/07 @ 3:38 PM EST
I'm a Husker alumnus and while in Nebraska all this dedication to football made perfect sense...but this is not something that translates well to California. (Continued…)
Haythrower
posted 7/16/07 @ 4:44 PM EST
I suggested we set our wedding date for an open Saturday, the week before NU was scheduled to play FSU in Lincoln. Once we got everything reserved, ordered, planned, and in concrete, ABC had the nerve to change the game date to directly conflict with our wedding. (Continued…)
Matt
posted 7/16/07 @ 10:57 PM EST
We booked our wedding for Sept. 14; the night before the USC game because a lot of our friends would already be in town. Also, we figured it would be good form for us not to have a TV on the alter, so Friday night it is!
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