By Staff Writer: Kayla Reichenbach
If you walked into my garage today, you’d see the exact point where school and wedding planning collide. A giant hand-painted “Kocher” banner, the name I’ll take after this October, hangs proudly across one wall. Floral-embroidered sheets wait to be transformed into decorations. My laptop sits on a folding table covered in drafts and notes for assignments. And every surface is scattered with bottles of acrylic and spray paint in nearly every color. It is messy, creative, and a perfect picture of what it is like to be a student and a bride-to-be at the same time.
When Keith and I got engaged in February 2024, I thought I had an idea of what wedding planning would be like. I quickly learned that you do not know until you are in it. There are endless details, things to buy, organize, and remember that you do not think of until they are suddenly in front of you. My senior-year course load is lighter than before, but mentally, I am pulled in two directions. I have never been more consumed by a project than I am with this wedding.
Sometimes the weight of balancing both worlds hits me in unexpected ways. Even this article is proof. I wanted to write something meaningful for “The Chase,” but I also wanted it to reflect the reality of my life right now. Finding a way to tie my personal story to student life has been its own challenge.
Budgeting has been another test. Inflation and surprise costs make it impossible to predict everything. Being a perfectionist, I have always struggled to delegate, but planning a wedding while in school has forced me to lean on others. It has taught me that I do not have to do it all myself.
Some of the most meaningful parts of our wedding are the ones I have created by hand. Over six months, I made nearly 20 large paper-mâché vases using an old umbrella stand as a mold. Each vase was painted by hand and filled with bouquets I built from a giant box of thrifted faux flowers. The process was long and exhausting, but deeply symbolic. Returning to college at 26 instead of 18 has been a longer, harder journey too, but like the vases, the payoff is beautiful.
I have also poured my digital creativity into designing invitations, signs, and menus, turning ideas from my laptop screen into real, tangible pieces. Those moments remind me I can do this, that my education and creativity overlap in meaningful ways.
My advice to other ENMU students planning major life events is simple. Delegate when you can, do not let your grades slip, and do not chase perfection. At the end of the day, marrying the love of your life is already the most beautiful win.