The Daily Gamecock

Couple for USC wedding planning class unveiled

Tuesday night the University of South Carolina's Wedding Planning and Management class revealed the couple selected to have their entire wedding planned by students. After narrowing down five the applications, the class decided on John and Nicole Dozier, particularly because of their interesting backstory.

John and Nicole are already married. They have known each other since high school, but they didn’t begin dating until much later. John Dozier served with the Marine Corps, and the couple began to date during his deployment in 2006. The wedding was originally planned for the summer of 2007.

“But then his schedule changed. He was going to be in California for this big training and then he deployed a month later,” Nicole said.

The only free weekend that the couple could get married was two weeks after they heard of his deployment. The wedding took place on April 7, 2007, and the ceremony only included eight guests.

“Just our parents, some of our grandparents and our siblings. We went to his church and we got married,” Nicole said.

The couple has always talked about having a big wedding one day, and Nicole jumped at the opportunity when she heard about USC’s program. She has always loved weddings and wanted the chance to experience a real wedding herself. The wedding will take place March 26, only a few weeks before their 10-year anniversary.

Nicole is excited to hand over her wedding to the class of eager students. She said it will be fun to work alongside them throughout the whole process.

“I think it’s amazing having over 50 wedding planners instead of one; that’s pretty cool,” Nicole said.

Katie Brewer, a fourth-year tourism management student, is one of the students planning the wedding. She says that all parts of the wedding, from the dress to flowers, are donated by shops in Columbia. Some specific vendors have been donating to the class for many semesters.

“It’s always difficult asking people for free stuff, especially when you know it’s small local businesses. It’s not always easy for them to give up such important products,” Brewer said.

With the wedding date set only two months away, the students have a lot on their plate for the next few weeks.

“I feel like it’s more stressful in the beginning just because we’re all trying to figure out the different pieces,” Brewer said.

USC’s Wedding Planning and Management class has planned 26 weddings total, so there are high expectations for John and Nicole’s dream wedding.


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