As a member of the Notre Dame community, I have always known about the "ring by spring" mentality. This year, I got more insight to the phenomenon. It started last summer and slowly but surely progressed until the last minute end of January proposal. Then the calling group organization began. No less than three of my friends, no doubt braver than I, decided to try to have their weddings at the Basilica in the summer of 2011. I myself went to my local church as soon as I got engaged and was able to set my date at the time I wanted that day.
I can understand the allure of the Basilica, and the further connection to Notre Dame would have been wonderful, but the hassle turned me off. In today's day and age, the busy signal is almost forgotten. This is not true if you want to get married at the Basilica. Notre Dame has an online lottery for all other important facets of student life. From application, to housing, to registration, to football tickets, to senior week activities, it is all automated. Why has one never been developed for weddings? It wouldn't be hard to do. Just collect people's information when they get engaged, ensure that they are appropriately affiliated with the University and then give them a pin. On March 1, they log on and get their date.
My greatest concern is for Amy Huber's sanity. In today's article, it said she dealt with 70-80 calls today. She must get annoyed eventually, and the couples must be frantic by 2 p.m. or so. I called for three hours and it seemed like an awfully long time. Also, what about the people on the West Coast? They had to get up at 5 a.m. Moreover, wedding hopefuls and their hapless friends and relatives have to use their limited vacation days, which recent graduates rarely have and could be better using going to weddings.
So let's fix the system, and maybe by the time my children are getting married, I won't have to call the Basilica for them
Katherine Pierret
alumnus
Class of 2009
March 2
