Olivia Lang and Amber Nevin, both ’15 | News Editor and Staff Writer

All of South’s  teachers are busy, but with classes in full swing and weddings to plan, engaged teachers do not have a minute to rest.

Spanish teacher Christine Spada, English teacher Danielle Peck and Biology teacher Annie Dalby are all expected to tie the knot in the near future, they said.

In addition to teaching and planning a wedding, Dalby is in the process of obtaining her Master’s Degree and is currently doing an internship, she said. To keep herself from becoming exceptionally busy, Dalby said she planned most of her wedding over the summer.

“It (planning my wedding) is a fun kind of a nice break too; it’s an outlet for me,” Dalby said.

Peck said she devotes the weekends when she is not very busy to planning her wedding. Although it can be stressful, Peck said she sees wedding planning as a fun activity.

“I have a wedding to plan which is sort of stressful especially with teaching and everything, but it’s fun,” said Peck. “Obviously, my job is a priority. School’s a priority, and all of my other commitments are kind of a priority, but it’s something fun to do on the weekends when you have some extra time. We’re trying not to get too stressed about it.”

Both Dalby and Peck’s fiances used the history of their relationships for their proposals. Dalby’s fiance proposed on their two-year anniversary as a couple, and Peck’s fiance proposed at the location of their first kiss at Michigan State University, they said.

“He proposed on our two year anniversary and we were on our way to our dinner, “ Dalby said. “Then we stopped by his parents’ house and his parents and my parents were there and his cousin was video taping it.”

The transition from having a boyfriend to having a fiance is one that is surprisingly uneventful, Peck and Dalby said. Changes in the relationship include things such as finances, but nothing drastic.

“We’ve been dating for a long time, for six years, so I would say the only real difference at least for me is people ask you a lot of questions,” Peck said.

Both Dalby and Peck said they have their own concerns about their big day. Dalby’s wedding is planned to be outside and weather could be a big factor.

“I actually always have nightmares about getting married and that not everything will be ready on the day,” Peck said. “I’m kinda nervous about that because I’ll have a dream and it (the wedding) will be tomorrow and nothing will be ready but I have to do it anyway.”

Planning a wedding is a whole task amongst itself. Countless decisions must be made from floral arrangements to venue, they said.

“You kind of want to please everyone,” Peck said. “It’s your day, but then again your parents are helping you, your friends are helping you, and I just want my mom to be happy about a lot of stuff, and it’s hard for me not to please people, so keeping into perspective what I want (is difficult because) I also want to make other people happy.”

Because her mom is making her wedding dress, Peck is able to have it entirely customized, she said. Peck’s mother used to be a seamstress and spent time as the Home Economics teacher at North.

“We went in and tried on a few dresses and none of them were quite perfect, and my mom said, ‘I can make one like that one only it’d be better,’” Peck said. “I said ‘Yes, I want you to make my wedding dress,’ so she’s in the process of making it right now.”

For the big day, Dalby said her dress will be strapless with a sweetheart neckline and have lace. Peck said she will be sporting a V-neck dress that is fitted at the top and then flows out; it is not strapless, which she said helps it complement the wedding’s vintage venue.

A weddings’ colors are of the most influential of the planning decisions; the colors anchor the mood of the whole event. Peck turned to Pinterest for many wedding ideas, one of which being the colors, and decided on coral and light green.

Dalby, on the other hand, said she and her fiance chose navy, earthy green and pearl white to be the decorative bases of their wedding.

Despite their occupational hazard of constantly being the center of attention while teaching, both Dalby and Peck said they are anxious about having all eyes on them on their wedding day.

“I don’t usually like the spotlight on me, which is hard to believe because I’m a teacher,” Dalby said.

Another concern of Dalby’s surrounds the guest list, she said. Since inviting everyone she and her husband have ever met is out of the question, she worries that she could hurt people’s feelings if they do not receive an invitation. Nevertheless, she said her wedding will be big in size, but intimate.

“I kinda want a smaller (wedding), but my family and his family are huge,” Dalby said. “It’ll be small relations-wise, like who I know, but bigger in number.”

Dalby and Peck are both planning on taking their fiances’ last names, but both have different views on how they would like to make that transition.

“My idea is I want to combine last names,” Peck said. “But he sort of hates that idea. His last name is Jarema and mine is Peck, so I want it to be Prema, but he thinks that’s really silly.”

Changing her last name seems as though it would be a difficult task for Dalby, she said. She wants to take her husband’s name, but she feels attached to her own.

“Theres a lot to do with changing it (my last name),” Dalby said. “But I’ll be sad to see my name go, I like the last name Dalby.”

Despite concerns about the wedding itself, Peck and Dalby are both looking forward to marrying the person that they love, they said.

“I never really dreamed of growing up and getting married, but I love the person that I’m with,” said Peck, “and I want to get married.”