They say that, if you can live through planning a wedding, you can live through anything. How correct they are.
College students are already juggling all they can handle - school, a job, homework and extracurricular activities - when here comes the biggest event of their lives: a perfect wedding.
The single most important thing I can tell all of you future brides and grooms is to delegate! Don't be afraid to tell others what to do. Ask others to pick up the phone and call the caterers, photographers, florists and so on.
It's important to have others involved in the wedding party to help you out with eliminating the competition. It's part of their job, but they probably don't know it.
They certainly won't offer to call people for you, so ask them. It's worth it to share the responsibility, because you'll pull your hair out by the time the wedding comes if you don't.
Second, overestimate the wedding budget. For those of you who are following tradition and having the bride's family pay for everything, you're lucky. But for those of you who are going to pay for a lot of the wedding yourself, good luck.
A wedding is expensive, and no matter how much you hope to spend, you'll spend that amount plus some.
There's the cost of the wedding facility; the reception, which includes decorations, food and, of course, alcohol; the rehearsal dinner; two photographers (one for bridal portraits and one for the ceremony); the florist; both cakes; the invitations and announcements; the honeymoon (don't forget to include spending money); the wedding rings, tuxedo rental; attendants' gifts; the bridesmaids' luncheon; and, finally, the Cinderella wedding gown with all the accessories.
Grand total: the price of a brand new car which you were hoping to get for graduation but can't because of your wedding of a lifetime. But that's OK.
Thinking about eloping yet?
After the wedding date is set, you may think you have an ample amount of time to get started on the wedding plans, but believe me, the time goes by too quickly.
The florists and photographers will tell you that you have a lot of time to plan, but you really don't if you want to do everything right. From the day the excitement of the engagement begins to wear off, start planning. You never have enough time.
You have to begin to call all the various people you want to work for you and then start eliminating. After you have chosen the people you would like to work with, there are numerous consultations for each part of the wedding.
And don't forget about possible last-minute nightmares, like the groom's cake that fell off the truck while it was hauling down I-10 en route to the reception.
Don't think about that, but do think about all the things that have to be done and give yourself some time to do them.
Finally, most of us have pictured the wedding of our dreams since we were little girls. This is your time to shine and gain the attention of all of the important people in your lives. Your wedding is the most special day of your life, so remember that it is your day and no one else's.
You'll be disappointed 10 years down the road if you had pink bridesmaids' dresses instead of rose because the rose clashed with their hair. If you want rose, have rose. This is your wedding. Have whatever you want - just remember to hold off on that ice sculpture until you have double checked the wedding budget.
Good luck to all of the future brides and grooms out there. Planning your wedding will be a chore, but you can do it if you work together, and if you can't, I'm sure Las Vegas would be happy to accommodate.
Cantu is a junior journalism major who married in January.