New date... 8-9-08!

So as you may have noticed, Mike and I finally set a wedding date. I selected it myself after consulting with one of the co-administrators of my program, so that I'd have enough time between my Qualifying Exam and the ceremony to take care of last minute plans, stay sane, and even actually enjoy myself. I wanted the wedding after the test, with at least two weeks between the two.

Of course as soon as I take the time to e-mail all sorts of people to let them know about the wedding date, I'm informed that my Quals have been moved from the first half of August to mid-September! Luckily we hadn't yet signed contracts with DJs, photographers, caterers, and such... just set up the church, hall, and celebrant with my home parish.

Quals are a pretty big deal in my program. It's a huge oral exam and research talk that determines my status as a PhD candidate in good standing. Also, the test is administered by a faculty panel, which is why scheduling them in summer is such a big deal. It turns out that even university faculty like to go on vacation every once in a while, when they can find time in their already busy schedules.

That and the fact that I want to take advantage of group prep sessions with my peers (which will work out better if we're all taking the test at about the same time) led me to decide that the easiest solution was to move the wedding... not back to the fall, since so many guests and participants are still students, but earlier in the summer with at least a month between the ceremony and the exam. It's not as ideal as the original plan, but it's survivable. We'd be able to schedule a vacation/honeymoon for after the test, as well.

So... the new date is August 9th, 2008! It's still a Saturday. Locations are the same as before, and I'm also staying on top of the changes by updating the wedding website. The date is more solid than ever since we've shelled out for deposits at the church and for a reception DJ this week... and I've gotten some assurance from the powers-that-be at school that they will work around MY schedule this time if the test date jumps again for any reason!