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Miss Unicycle, Chicago, IL Age and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing Company Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD Student Engagement Date: March 26, 2011 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Bridges of Poplar Creek About Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
About Miss Unicycle

In my last post I mentioned that I was going to try implementing a self-imposed wedding-free date night rule for me and Mr. Unicycle. I thought about it for like a day and then I was like, “Grrl…it’s too hard.” When you only see your fiance three times a month on average, it’s hard to not want to hammer out a bunch of wedding junk every time you see him! So I gave it the ol’ college try, but in the end I decided to make lemonade out of the sitch.

Eight Ways to Turn Wedding Planning into Date Night :  wedding chicago Sitch sitch

Image via MTV

Not this sitch. Well, maybe.

That’s right, I’ll turn wedding planning into a date! Genius, right? Multitasking at its finest. Here’s what I came up with:

  1. Picking Music: Grab your laptops and each spend a few minutes queuing up a bunch of songs—on YouTube, your personal music library, wherever. When you’ve both chosen a few, take turns playing a song from each others’ lists and get yo’ freak on (that means dancing, right? I’m kind of not as hip  as I pretend to be). Pick slow songs, fast songs, meaningful songs, and even songs that you would never actually play at the wedding. Don’t forget to drink wine while you do it.
  2. Scoping out DJs/Bands: Some wedding DJs and bands will play gigs at clubs or bars, so put on your clubbin’ outfits and get jiggy with it to your potential future wedding musicians over a few brewskies. A lot of big DJ companies also have open houses where you can meet DJs, hear their sound systems, and nibble on free hors d’oeuvres. (That’s the first time I’ve been able to spell that without looking it up!)
  3. Tastings: Whether it be cake or dinner, any kind of food tasting constitutes a date in my book. Make it a triple date by inviting the ’rents or the bridal party and a good time will be had by all. What’s better than eating a delicious repast with your sweetie while criticizing every single bite? Nothing.

    Eight Ways to Turn Wedding Planning into Date Night :  wedding chicago Food010 food010

    Personal pic

    Like this, but with real food.

  4. Dance Lessons: A lot of dance studios offer a free dance lesson to brides and grooms (because they want to rope you in for more!). Take the free lesson, and if you get roped in, then just think of it as a series of future dates. Even if you don’t want a choreographed first dance, there’s nothing wrong with learning a few steps to help you avoid the junior high sway.
  5. Scoping out Transportation: Looking to book a limo, trolley, or other transportation for your wedding day? A lot of big limo/car rental companies also offer open houses where you can view their fleet, and many have classic cars for your man to ogle while you take mental notes for the wedding day. He’ll think you’re doing him a favor.
  6. Man-Friendly Craft Night: Just look around Weddingbee for about five seconds and you’ll realize that crafts pretty much come with the territory when you’re planning a wedding, whether you’re crafty or not. Get him involved in something he might actually enjoy, and craft together while you watch a movie. Note: this is not the time for Martha’s tissue poms. I’m thinking more along the lines of anything involving wood, metal, tools, or Legos. I’ve got a Lego wedding craft up my sleeve to keep Mr. Unicycle busy. Stay tuned…

    Eight Ways to Turn Wedding Planning into Date Night :  wedding chicago Mankni man+kni

    Image via Times Union

    This probably won’t happen.

  7. Engagement Pics: This might be a stretch, but I like to believe Mr. Unicycle had a good time during our engagement session. We spent the whole day traipsing around the city, kissing each other and whispering poop jokes in each others’ ears when we were trying to keep a straight face for the camera. That’s about as romantic as it gets, people.

    Eight Ways to Turn Wedding Planning into Date Night :  wedding chicago Ward3 ward3

    Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography

    Poop.

  8. Planning the Honeymoon: Sit down one night with a bunch of travel brochures (oh who am I kidding—the internet) and pick out all the fun things you’re going to do on your honeymoon. Have fun daydreaming about lazy days on the beach, romantic tours through historic areas, and exotic meals at local restaurants. Just don’t let him get so excited about the honeymoon that he forgets about the wedding.

What other ideas do you guys have for making wedding planning fun for both the bride and the groom? Have you tried any of these? Don’t you love seeing Mr. Unicycle drink out of that heart straw?

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14 Responses to “Eight Ways to Turn Wedding Planning into Date Night”

1.
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Guest
Lexy

haha… I made Mr. L make tissue paper poms… he just cut them out for me while watching a Lincoln biography though… def. not date night :-)

 
2.
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Bee
Mrs. Parasol (message)  2,142 posts, Buzzing bee

Such cute ideas! We definitely had a lot of fun picking out music together. That was wedding planning that Mr. P could get on board with (actually, he was a really good sport about everything!).

 
3.
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Bee
Miss Turkey (message)  300 posts, Helper bee

Has Mr. Unicycle caught on to your super sneaky multi-tasking? I am filing this to try later with Mr. Turkey.

 
4.
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Bee
Mrs. Pony (message)  4,175 posts, Honey bee

This are such cute ideas! We loved picking out wines as a date/wedding planning combo :)

 
5.
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Member
mdlapaz (message)  26 posts, Newbee

Me too Lexy. :)
The tissue poms were a nightly staple in front of the TV for about three weeks. We made 12!

 
6.
knvprincess143
Member
knvprincess143 (message)  807 posts, Busy bee

I think you have awesome ideas but my FI would fake a comma before agreeing to most of them. He hated every second of our engagement pictures (maybe because it was 30 degrees out), he’s told me he dance lessons are so out of the question (I’ve tried). But I know he’d like the honeymoon planning as long as I agreed to practice honeymoon activities afterwards.

 
7.
knvprincess143
Member
knvprincess143 (message)  807 posts, Busy bee

PS I love seeing Mr Uni and heart straws.

 
8.
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Bee
Mrs. Funnel Cake (message)  690 posts, Busy bee

We turned our TV over to the dining room table (something we have neeever done!) and watched episodes of Family Guy during the final assembly line of our DIY mass programs. It was definitely enjoyable. :)

 
9.
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Bee
Miss Hawk (message)  598 posts, Busy bee

Sneaky tactics, Uni. I might have to use some of these! ;)

 
10.
TinyTina
Member
TinyTina (message)  3,312 posts, Sugar bee

Hahah we totally turned cake tasting into a double date with our MOH and her boyfriend. We were able to take the samples home with us, so we invited them over and popped open a bottle of wine. It was awesome!

 
11.
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Bee
Ms. Gazelle (message)  994 posts, Busy bee

Love this list! I know for sure that Mr. G loved the engagement photo session. Hellooo, he got to wander around Vancouver with me and smooch me all the time. What was not to love?

 
12.
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Bee
Miss Unicycle (message)  293 posts, Helper bee

@Lexy: I had my DAD helping with tissue poms at my brother’s wedding! It was weird and awesome.

@Miss Turkey: I’m sure he has! Can’t get anything past that guy…

@Mrs. Pony: ooh, did someone say wine?? hahaha good idea to add to the list!

@knvprincess143: lol honeymoon activities. Practice makes perfect, right?

 
13.
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Bee
Miss Mole (message)  988 posts, Busy bee

Haha, I love this post! Our last wedding “date” was watching episodes of Dexter on the couch while I addressed envelopes. We will have to do a more exciting one sometime soon!

 
14.
Tayylin
Member
Tayylin (message)  98 posts, Worker bee

We both agree that our engagement session was one of the most romantic days we’ve ever had. It was perfect! Going back to the rooftop we got engaged on and reminiscing, driving my vintage car out to a beautiful manor and playing croquet, having a picnic under the Autumn leaves, dancing in the ballroom we’ll get married in… It was a beautiful day.

 

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Miss Unicycle
Miss Unicycle

Miss Unicycle, Chicago, IL Age and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing Company Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD Student Engagement Date: March 26, 2011 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Bridges of Poplar Creek About Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.

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