Things Homeschooling taught me about Wedding Planning

Let me preface this post with: I promise this isn’t a soapbox “everyone should homeschool” post. The majority of my high school graduating class was headed for teaching degrees. But I honestly NEVER wanted to be a teacher. Once Emillia was born, I toyed with the idea of homeschool, but life had other plans and we rolled with it.

Enter 2020 when our family was one of many who became the pandemic homeschoolers. Suddenly I was not only teaching one kid, but THREE. (Ok. Evan doesn’t learn traditionally because he’s a toddler but he’s pretty bomb at his tiny chores.) Funny enough, our homeschooling journey has taught me a LOT about a whole different topic… Wedding Planning. Behold the 13 things I’ve learned are the same whether you’re wedding planning or homeschooling.

1. Keep a planner + notebook with you at all times

While homeschool doesn’t have a whole lot of due dates (just September 15th every year), wedding planning will have dozens. You’ll have a due date for everything; when to send save the dates, invitations, order flowers, etc. WRITE THEM DOWN in your planner. Look at it daily. Check that shiz off.

What homeschool does have is holidays, special occasions, etc. that you’ll want to keep track of. This is also where the notebook comes in handy for both: make notes of things that inspire you! See awesome ideas for lesson plans? Make note. Find wording online for your wedding website? Write it down!

2. Have a plan B or C or D

I found out I was pregnant with Zeke at the beginning of our homeschool journey. First trimester “morning sickness” meant sleeping in and skipping morning lessons. We did a lot of after dinner lessons when Jake was home to help. Some days we skipped formal lessons all together and instead learned life skills. It wasn’t ideal, but hey, Emi can cook a mean breakfast all on her own now.

Wedding planning is much the same. You can’t plan for EVERYTHING no matter how hard you try. But it doesn’t hurt to have a plan B, C, or D. As we learned through the pandemic, sometimes crap just happens. So have a plan for when your favorite grandparent cannot travel (Hello Day Before/After Session with Grandma!) or you need to totally scrap the idea of a 300 person wedding. We’ve seen tons of ideas from cardboard cutouts of guests, to Zoom/FB live wedding ceremonies. Have a backup plan or two.

3. Pinterest is your friend.

When it comes to needing something specific, head to Pinterest. More than once I’ve had a subject come up during the kids’ lessons that I needed to enhance. Pinterest has everything. I keep a homeschool board where I pin printables, lesson plans and more to inspire our journey

I highly recommend creating one wedding inspiration board, then dividing that into sections. Of course, when you’re looking for something specific it can be hard to ignore all the suggestions Pinterest gives. Hit the search button first and type in the mood you’re going for! Everything from gorgeous wedding DIYs to free invitation suites are available to pin. So be specific in what you’re looking for, or set a timer if you think you’ll get stuck in the rabbit hole.

4. Get Outside

Whether you’re homeschooling or wedding planning, GET OUTSIDE. Your body gets tired of seeing the same thing over and over. Plus you can only walk the aisles of Hobby Lobby so many times before people start to think you live there. So pack your snacks and go on an adventure.

For those of you who aren’t the type to get in the car and just pick a direction, don’t fret! Check out my lists on All trails. There’s a little something for everyone there! Who knows, you might find the perfect spot to elope while you’re adventuring.

+ Unschooling Hikes
+ Trails.com Wishlist
+ Elopement Ideas

5. Go your own way

It’s hard not to get caught up in comparing yourself with everyone around you. I have homeschool friends who spend 3 hours a day doing formal lessons. We’ve had days where we spent 10+ hours trying to just finish our core lessons. It doesn’t matter that our days look different. We’re all on different paths anyway.

Wedding envy is a real thing. It’s hard to see friends and relatives get married with enormous budgets when you’re paying for your own wedding in cash. Keep a list of the things that are most important to you. Put it in the front of your planner, notebook or stick it on your computer. Make it your phone lock screen. Whatever you do, keep it at the forefront of your mind.