Wedding bells have been quite loud on Southern Utah University’s campus, as many couples have sealed the deal in the past year. Proposals, wedding planning and the big wedding day are always a highlight in a bride’s life, but planning in college can be chaotic. Four SUU brides share their love story and what married life actually looks like in college.
Lydia Bennett:
Lydia and Colter Bennett met in May of 2023 while on a blind date visiting one of Southern Utah’s most beautiful art pieces —Kolob Canyon.
“We drove together to Kolob Canyon and hiked Taylor Creek Falls,” Lydia said. “It was so fun and right off the bat we both had a really easy time talking to each other about
anything and had fun together.”
They continually went on dates after that and eventually became official. Coulter popped the question in January 2024.
WEDDING PLANNING was insanely busy as Colter was campaigning for SUU student body president and Lydia was applying to nursing school. However, this did not stop this couple from planning a memorable wedding.
“It was BEAUTIFUL. Colors were pinks, peaches, baby blue, sage green, etc. The reception was garden party-esque,” Lydia describes. “The day was absolutely beautiful.”
The couple had to combine college life with married life.“It has been an adjustment for sure, but honestly such a blessing to have someone to support you and to come home to, with all the stressors of school,” she said. “It is also nice to be married to someone who works as hard as I do in school, so we can do homework and suffer together.”
Sadie Houston:
Sadie and Logan Houston’s love story was sparked by SUU’s presidential ambassador team. Their first interactions happened at an ambassador retreat.
“From the first day and throughout the entire retreat he tried to do everything to get to know me, be near me, get to know my friends,” Sadie said.
Meanwhile, Sadie thought his name was Jason the entire time.
“It wasn’t until I saw him at a Sunday devotional a few days later where I pointed him out to my roommate and she assured me his name was, not in fact, Jason,” she admitted.
THE PROPOSAL took place on January 23, 2023 and, according to Sadie, was a total surprise. She had no idea he had the ring, and as far as she was concerned, he wouldn’t have the ring for another couple of weeks due to the goldsmith being gone over the Christmas break.
The two drove through a blizzard up Cedar Canyon and Logan’s excuse was that he needed to take pictures for a photography assignment. He then popped the question by putting the ring behind a camera lens and having Sadie look through it.
“As I looked through the camera lens it was really blurry at first. As he focused the camera, I clearly saw the ring he was holding up in front of the camera lens,” Sadie recalled. “Shocked, freezing, and in pure joy, I was so surprised and ecstatic.”
As for WEDDING PLANNING IN COLLEGE, the couple were extremely busy but had lots of help.
“The majority of wedding planning happened during the winter/spring semester. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t stressful,” said Sadie. She expresses that her mom was a huge help and designated specific tasks throughout the week so Sadie could, “enjoy wedding planning while still focusing on school.”
Another huge help was that Sadie’s roommate was planning her wedding at the same time, which made the wedding planning, “really fun and relatable.”
Ashlyn Nelson:
Jacob and Ashlyn Nelson met through mutual friends and sparks were flying from the beginning, although, Ashlyn had another love interest at the time.
“The night of our first date I broke things off with him and started pursuing my interest in Jacob,” Ashlyn expressed.
THE PROPOSAL happened up Payson Canyon Utah and was a total surprise.
“Jacob was going to show me where they used to camp and the Payson Canyon mountains have massive, thick trees,“ said Ashlyn.
Little did she know his mom was hiding behind the trees with a camera, and then he got on one knee and asked her to marry him.
Their WEDDING RECEPTION was one to remember, filled with exciting moments for Ashlyn to reflect on.
“Towards the end of the reception, my husband got thrown in the pool along with his friends, “ she said. “After that, people were jumping in the pool, and eventually I decided to get thrown in too, because I knew I had to dry clean my dress anyway, so why not for the memories?”
The transition to married college life has been a dream for Ashlyn.
She stated, “I love it! It’s the best just studying with my best friend and getting to go to bed early. It’s definitely been my favorite semester so far.”
Gabi Springer:
Gabi and Hayden Springer met in Cedar City at a pancake dinner. They began dating in February 2023, and Hayden popped the question at the beginning of October at the beautiful Lake Powell.
Between getting engaged in October and planning the wedding throughout finals week, the stress was high.
“Wedding planning was rough being in school,” Gabi expressed. “We got married over spring break so the week before our wedding we were doing assignments and taking exams.”
Gabi describes her WEDDING DAY as, “Just a perfect day.”
The ceremony took place in Gilbert, AZ on February 24, 2024.
The stress level was not too high, except the pictures stressed Gabi out; however, they “turned out perfect,” she says.
“I think we had the best dance party known to man, but I’m a little biased,” she described. “My father-in-law messed up the entrance of our ring ceremony but honestly it made it more real and fun so I didn’t mind.”
As Gabi and Hayden transitioned into life as a married couple, there was a shift in their social life that Gabi did not expect.
“It changes your friends and daily socialization, but now being married for seven months it’s become more normal and I’ve learned how to balance it,” she said.
Being married in college comes with an unexpected set of challenges, but this is the real story of couples on SUU’s campus who have conquered married life and are excited for the fun chapter ahead of them.
Author: Natalie Anderson
Editor: Heather Turner
Copy Editor: Kayd Johanson
Photos courtesy of Lydia Bennett, Sadie Houston, Ashlyn Nelson and Gabi Springer
eic@suunews.net
This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of the University Journal
