planning a wedding

[Trepko 0]

my fiancee plans on having a real marriage within the 90 days pick a venue (without a date) have a cake with no date a pastor a caterer all this without a date not to mention inviting people has anyone else accomplished it within the 90 days? is it even plausible? keep in mind i don't wanna go broke trying to do this within the 90 days

[Hugglebuggles 60]

My finance and I are planning a wedding as well. We just estimated the approximate date we would be approved with the K-1, baring any sort of major problems, and booked things on a date we thought would be safe. Most places let you switch dates as long as you give proper notice and select an off-peak date (something on any day other than Saturday, or something in the winter) So I would suggest booking things now and asking the venue what penalty would be incurred if you had to move the day of the wedding. Just wait on things you cannot change... like invites.

This strategy is going to work well for us (I hope!) I have my visa interview in 2 weeks and the wedding was planned for the beginning of August.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Hugglebuggles

[Slightly Bonkers 0]

While everyone here will tell you it's a bad idea, as long as you're smart you can totally do this.

We didn't really set a date until we had our NOA2 in our hand

We picked a date about 3 months after the latest possible date we could forsee me getting my visa, and were right by a couple of weeks, and that included an unforeseen delay with a police report.

We picked places and vendors that required only a small deposit, and were very willing to work with us on changing dates if necessary.

We warned people not to book tickets until they got the go ahead from us. In the end some of my family took the 'risk' and ended up booking their tickets before I did!

We did as much planning as we could for the non-date specific stuff. The ceremony, the dress, the tux, the music.

The only disadvantage to this that we found, is that I ended up having to stay in Ireland a little longer than I would have liked. I got my visa at the beginning of May, and didn't want to spend too much time out of work, so ended up waiting until July to travel for our planned August wedding.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

my fiancee plans on having a real marriage within the 90 days pick a venue (without a date) have a cake with no date a pastor a caterer all this without a date not to mention inviting people has anyone else accomplished it within the 90 days? is it even plausible? keep in mind i don't wanna go broke trying to do this within the 90 days

It is deadly to make plans involving money without a K-1 visa in your hand. Any number of things can go wrong to delay the process. 8 weeks in AP at the NVC for no reason at all other than you got randomly selected, for example. I would plan on a simple civil ceremony when she arrives to make it all legal and then make all the plans you want for a formal ceremony. Take your time. If you do not have a lot of money to spend, do not risk it on trying to guess when a visa will be issued and when the "90 days" will begin.

The other option is to plan way out there, the visa itself is valid for 6 months, you could delay her entry into the USA for up to 6 months after the visa is issued. So you could have, actually, as much 9 months from the time the visa is issued to plan a wedding after the visa is in your hand.

[tysha. 0]

my fiancee plans on having a real marriage within the 90 days pick a venue (without a date) have a cake with no date a pastor a caterer all this without a date not to mention inviting people has anyone else accomplished it within the 90 days? is it even plausible? keep in mind i don't wanna go broke trying to do this within the 90 days

I agree with the post above. Remember you have 6 months once your fiance GETS the visa to actually enter the USA and once entering, the 90 days to get married starts. For myself, my fiance and I are getting married in Maui and will have everything organized with the coordinator and have our invitations ready to go but won't get them printed or have anything booked until I know my interview date. We are kind of trusting that I will be approved for the visa, but if I were you, I really wouldn't do anything until you have a FIRM date on when this process will be over. I have been told many times "the only plan you should have is not to make plans."

Good luck!

[minnew 4]

We didn't set a wedding date until we knew the NVC had received our petition and also sent it to Vancouver for the rest of the process. Again you can end up in additional processing even at the consulate level so one never knows. Our date is for October of this year, so this gives us plenty of time between interview and the POE. I hope to have my interview near the end of May and not do POE until September. Again like someone else said we let family know tentatively what the date was and not to make any final plans until after I receive approval in Vancouver. Both of our venues are reschedulable and we do not forfeit the deposit, invitations and such not be printed until after the interview. It is doable, depending on what your fiance and yourself plan to do after receiving the Visa as you have 6 months to activate it.

[Hell0W0rld 10]

plan something when you have the VISA in your hands, anything can go wrong during this process, don't bet on anything.. even though Canada is not a high fraud country, you just never know... it doesn't matter how smart you are or how good your plan is....................

Edited April 14, 2009 by HelloWorld08

[Shad and Dani 3]

Waiting for the NOA2 and the interview date before setting a date.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

my fiancee plans on having a real marriage within the 90 days pick a venue (without a date) have a cake with no date a pastor a caterer all this without a date not to mention inviting people has anyone else accomplished it within the 90 days? is it even plausible? keep in mind i don't wanna go broke trying to do this within the 90 days

You know - you could do what Umit and I are planning.

When she comes over on the K-1, we will get the marriage license/certificate within 4 weeks of arrival, just a civil thing -

then after we will plan the wedding party - and take all the time we need to do so.

[HappyDancer 7]

Which state will you be going?

I would suggest you go cyber window shopping re the wedding costs. Everything will be easier especially when you SO gives you a hand with the planning. Me and my fiance are planning to get married about 6 weeks after I get there. I will DIY mostly everything that has to do with the wedding stuff like invites, thank you cards, favors, decoration, flowers etc.

Try to get your wedding dress ready before heading to the US. I will have my wedding outfit all ready before my flight.

Good luck!

[ealachan 0]

my fiancee plans on having a real marriage within the 90 days pick a venue (without a date) have a cake with no date a pastor a caterer all this without a date not to mention inviting people has anyone else accomplished it within the 90 days? is it even plausible? keep in mind i don't wanna go broke trying to do this within the 90 days

You know - you could do what Umit and I are planning.

When she comes over on the K-1, we will get the marriage license/certificate within 4 weeks of arrival, just a civil thing -

then after we will plan the wedding party - and take all the time we need to do so.

This is the route we've decided to take, as well. Trying to plan a wedding on a nebulous "what if" date was just too crazy.

[PB&JAM 1]

Yes, we are waiting also until he actually gets the K1 in his hand. (course this makes it annoying with friends, family, coworkers asking daily, 'when's the wedding??') but, it cant be helped. I absolutely dread the idea of a planning a wedding, and yes i'm a girl! my sisters n friends are going to plan it or else i soon just elope. plus i hate attention

[haleywynne 0]

I originally thought we could plan a wedding that quick and with that much chance. But now, we've agreed on a courthouse wedding when he gets here, then have all next year to really plan a proper wedding haha.

His family and friends need a lot of time to plan their visit, too!

[tysha. 0]

Yes, we are waiting also until he actually gets the K1 in his hand. (course this makes it annoying with friends, family, coworkers asking daily, 'when's the wedding??') but, it cant be helped. I absolutely dread the idea of a planning a wedding, and yes i'm a girl! my sisters n friends are going to plan it or else i soon just elope. plus i hate attention

HA. I'm going through the same thing - it was my birthday a few weeks ago and people on facebook and such were wishing me a happy birthday and of course asking me "when the wedding is."...and it's such a LONG story to explain it to everyone! For this reason, we made a blog...so people can stop asking and just read it.

[IrieCat 2]

Do you want a big wedding? Smaller would probably be easier... :-)

When my now husband got his visa approved we started to set a date... We chose a date for about 3 months after he arrived.. it was only a week or 2 before the deadline. We made it real simple.. my aunt is a JOTP. Maybe you know someone that is a JOTP or a friend or family member can even get ordained quickly! I guess this all depends on how religious you want it to be.

We got married outside in the summer... local park, by the river. It cost $50 to reserve the day.

Spending lots of money and going broke doesnt make the day more special. We probably spent under $2000 (including reception that my aunt paid for as a gift). My family really helped out with everything.. my best friend even bought my dress as a wedding gift!

Good luck to you! You will have a wonderful day no matter what!

....Irie