Wedding bells: some seniors prepare to toss bouquets

For many undergraduate students at UB, preparing for a weeklong spring break vacation or a Friday night beer pong tournament is the hardest thing they've had to organize.

However, things are different for the handful of undergraduate students that will be getting married in the next year or two. Instead of packing a beer funnel and bikini in a suitcase, or buying red plastic cups and a stack of Miller Light cans, these future husbands and wives are planning wedding ceremonies.

Cynthia Lysczek, junior psychology and community mental health major, will be tying the knot on August 5, 2006 and said she is excited about the transition from the college life to the married life.

Lysczek was introduced to her husband-to-be Matt Szeliga, a UB college graduate, three summers ago at a pool party by mutual friends. After more than a two-year relationship, Matt surprised her this January with a sweet, heartfelt proposal at a hotel room dressed in his very best suit.

Planning a wedding includes all the large things, like the location and date, to smaller details like favors, wedding colors, gift registries and photographers. Arranging for a ceremony is a headache for couples that have long since graduated, and is even more difficult for college students who are juggling classes, assignments and jobs.

"We plan to have a very intimate and elegant wedding, with a reception of about 100 of our closest family and friends," Lysczek said.

She said that all the planning is stressful, and it's especially hard because she's about three hours away from where the actual ceremony will take place.

"It's hard trying to balance school, work, long distance with Matt and our families, while making decisions about the wedding," she said. "We want everyone to be excited, but there's just not enough time to get everything ready."

While the average student is cramming for exams, and spending their last week of class enjoying the weather and gallivanting with friends, future brides like Lysczek are attending events like the bridal exposition she drove home for last weekend to check out wedding attire.

Cost is definitely an issue in organizing a wedding ceremony a well, and chances are there aren't many college students with $10,000 lying around to cover all the expenses.

Lysczek said she and her fianc?(c)'s parents plan on divvying up the cost of the reception. Any other costs, an estimated $10,000, including their expected honeymoon to Ochos Rios, Jamaica for a week, she and Matt will be covering.

Even with the lengthy wedding bill, and the planning headaches, Lysczek is full of bridal anticipation.

"When the day comes when Matt and I say 'I do,' I'm sure it will be well worth it - that's what I'm going to treasure most."

Last September, Alex Bohn, a junior physics major, took a day trip on a Greyhound bus down to Bayville, just northwest of Cleveland, Ohio where his girlfriend of a year lived. Bohn was on a mission to propose: "bended knee and everything" he described.

Bohn and his fianc?(c)e Karyn, who are many miles apart, have been planning the wedding together which will take place on Sept. 3 of this year.

So far they've booked the reception facility, sent out invitations and contacted the official who will conduct the ceremony. In the near future they will be finalizing flower arrangements, music selections, reception favors, groomsmen attire and bridesmaid dresses.

According to Bohn, the ceremony, which will include approximately 120 people, demands a lot of time and organization on both their parts. He said he plans on making "to do" lists and not letting himself fall behind on arrangements in order for everything to run smoothly.

"I have to admit, because the wedding's near Bay Village, I'm very much out of the planning loop," Bohn said. "I feel badly, because she's stuck with a lot of it, but it's hard for me to keep it all straight ... I can't imagine how she does it."

Bohn said he is prepared for a long summer.

"This summer's going to be tough," he said.

Bohn said he plans on getting a job to pay for some of the expenses, and dealing with the inevitable last-minute preparations that will be stressful. He knows that he will have to sacrifice much of his personal time.

His advice for other about-to-be newlyweds is to "go for it," even though there are "no guarantees."

"All that has to happen for me is to get a hug from Karyn, and I'll remember why I'm doing it," he said. "All you need is love. John Lennon was right."