4A
NEWS / WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
MARRIAGE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Liz Sell is getting married at age 22, three years younger than the median age in Kansas and four years younger than the national median. Left: Liz's mother walks down the aisle at age 19.
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MONEY MATTERS
In 2007, Sell and Epp, a senior from Pretty Prairie, lived in separate apartments in the same complex. They would take turns spending the night in each other's apartments for a year until they eventually decided it was a waste of money. In August 2008, Sell and Epp moved in together, despite Epp's grandmother's uneasy feelings. The move cut down on housing and utility costs for the couple.
A month later, without telling Sell, Epp bought a $1,300 engagement ring. It wouldn't be until Christmas that he would propose, by putting the ring in a box that was inside a bigger box, and so on all the way up to a very large box.
More than a year later, Sell and Epp have now saved about $1,000 to contribute to their parents' funds for the wedding. The rest of Epp and Sell's saving efforts are going to pay for their five night stay at Walt Disney World for their honeymoon. But during the last few months, Sell's schedule has been jam-packed preparing for the wedding.
Decide on party favors and center pieces. Check
Finalize the reception menu. Check
Complete homework. Check.
lance, her mother, admits she worried about her daughter's stress level.
"I think the timing is a little bit rough because he's trying to find a job and she's got another year to get her teaching certificate," Janice said. "I'm afraid she's going to turn into a bridezilla."
Sell said having a year and a half to plan the wedding had helped reduce her stress level.
"I tried to make sure I had time for myself and to relax and not let everything get to me."
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Now that she is married,
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Laura Schmidt and her fiance David Friedberg kiss at the Campanile, where they became engaged a year ago. Schmidt; a senior from Wichita, and he complete six sessions of pre-marital counseling at their church. Schmidt and Friedberg said they thought the counseling was helpful and that they were
Moving in with one another may have lessened the bills for Sell and Epp, but for Whitney Janen-Pankratz, a senior from Heston, that was only the beginning of the benefits she saw.
Whitney married her husband, Nick, almost two years ago, when she was 20 and he was 22. Though they did not live together before marriage, Whitney said one of the biggest benefits of being married and in school was the increase in financial aid available to her.
Now that she is married,
no parents no longer
claim her as a dependent so
her financial aid is based solely on her
In order to ensure they wouldn't have money problems, the couple made a budget. Whitney said their parents encouraged
"Their logic is if we ever did need help, they didn't want our cell phone bill to be one of the things that got cut off" Whitney said. "There are certain little things that they kind of keep an eve on."
"My stress level reduced when we got married because he was able to help with the finances."
WHITNEY JANZEN-PANKRATZ Hesston senior
own income. Before they were married, Whitney worked two jobs and was nearly self-sufficient.
"My stress level reduced when we got married because he was able to help with the finances," she said.
them to do so because they, too, were married at a young age and understood the potential difficulties.
Although Whitney and Nick support themselves, their parents still help out by paying for their cell phone bills.
Married
couples such as Whitney and Nick tend to have a higher household net income than unmarried people, according to Pew, which could motivate some to walk down the aisle. Statistics show that the youngest median age at marriage comes from the "Bible belt" of the nation — states such as Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
KEEPING THE FAITH
The note read, "Sorry we can't celebrate your birthday today but I bought you and your roommate massages for today. I hope you enjoy them."
After reading the note, tears silently streamed down her face. She hoped this was it, but couldn't be sure. Five years of dating, this had to be it, she thought, but after a second note she got at lunch, she wasn't so sure.
The massages were the first in a string of events, notes and a riddle that led Schmidt to the front of the Campanile, wondering why she was there.
Laura Schmidt remembers waking up on her 20th birthday last year with her roommate handing her a note from her boyfriend.
The big day is set for June 12, a week before their six-and-a half year anniversary as a couple. But first they must finish four more premarital counseling sessions to complete the six sessions their church requires. Schmidt and Friedberg said they liked the sessions and they would probably have done them even if they weren't required.
When her boyfriend stepped out from behind the Campanile with five roses, one for each year of dating, she knew this was the moment she had waited for — his proposal.
Schmidt, a senior from Wichita, met her fiancé, David Friedberg, a senior at Wichita State, at the Christian high school they both attended. Their shared faith drew them
together and by her junior year in high school, and after he helped her cope with the death of her grandmother, Schmidt knew he was the one for her.
"We want to make sure we give them tools to make the best decision." Beseau said.
Questions on the test address topics such as communication, finances, children, work and sexuality.
"It itt like it it was good to get stuff out there like family and in-laws in a situation where it's a lot less threatening" Schmidt said.
Reverend Steve Beseau leads marriage preparation courses at St. Lawrence Catholic Center and uses a compatibility test to find what areas a couple needs to focus on.
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