Wedding Plans?

[David and Karen 0]

Hey everyone!

We have been giving more thought to our actual wedding day and all that goes with it. We plan to marry within a short time after the girls and I get to the US.

My question to you all is if you already entered on the K1 what sort of wedding did you have? If you haven't already then what are your plans for your wedding after you arrive in the USA?

I ask because I am somewhat confused about planning anything. Did you all have quick civil weddings? Did you have full ceremonies? Did you have a photographers or a reception? What about those of you with children? Did they play a role in things?

I think it is safe to say we are planning something small, low key. Just looking for ideas.

Gimme details details details!

Edited September 18, 2006 by David and Karen

[Bunnyqr 0]

We are planning on having a quick civil ceremony for the K1 Visa and then planning on having a full church ceremony later.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

We had a very small service with a Magistrate held outdoors in the heritage gardens of a local historic site. It was simple, quiet and very satisfying. My father ( my mother is deceased and his parents were too elderly to travel) and a couple who are very good friends of ours attended with their young daughter. My Dad and our friends' daughter took photos and one of our friends and my Dad were our witnesses. We all went out aferwards with the Judge to a small cafe for refreshments, then back home for a larger dinner. It was lovely.

[evilcanuck 0]

full wedding, small but full. we had an idea of the timeframe, knew we wanted it small, and i used to own a bridal shop,and do wedding consultation...i knwo weddings it was pretty cool, we did everyting ourselves (myself lol0 made the dress, boquets, etc etc. Just think of al lthe time you will have on your hads once you get here to do all that sort of thing, its not like you can work or anything LOL

[JenT 0]

We wanted our church wedding to be our 'only wedding'. Small and intimate. Only splurging on a hummer limo to take us and family (no one knows about the hummer) from home to church to dinner at a B&B. Family will be going home in the hummer, we will remain at the B&B for our wedding night.

Photographer is a professional but a personal friend who will meet us at church, take a few pics there, and then meet us at the B&B for some outdoor pics.

I'm making my own flower bouquets (no other flowers at church) and centerpieces for the tables at dinner. Also making my own wedding cake. We will be a group of 20 people.

Already have my dress and the girls' dresses... going the non-traditional route there.

Only other extravagance are custom-made wedding rings (I didn't want an engagement ring) with special symbols built into them...

Honeymoon will be next year once his AP is granted. We'll go visit his family in the UK, my family and his daughter in Germany.

[Cassie 8]

Hey everyone!

We have been giving more thought to our actual wedding day and all that goes with it. We plan to marry within a short time after the girls and I get to the US.

My question to you all is if you already entered on the K1 what sort of wedding did you have? If you haven't already then what are your plans for your wedding after you arrive in the USA?

I ask because I am somewhat confused about planning anything. Did you all have quick civil weddings? Did you have full ceremonies? Did you have a photographers or a reception? What about those of you with children? Did they play a role in things?

I think it is safe to say we are planning something small, low key. Just looking for ideas.

Gimme details details details!

we had the "full meal deal" religious ceremony at a local mansion, complete with minister, flower girls, photographer/videographer and reception! The ceremony itself was very small (only 20 people were there), but we had about 75 people at the reception....thanks to both our families, we were able to pull this off SIX days after I arrived in the USA. Now, we did something that I tend not to recommend....you know, set a date before getting the visa in hand... ...but God was watching over us and our plan worked.

We had everything planned and decided so that once we knew my interview date we swung into action and had everything ready to go. I made a lot of things myself over the summer, during the NOA2 wait -- it helped to pass the time! We splurged on a couple of things (the wedding/reception site, my dress, the photographer/videographer (very key since very few family members were able to attend, and even then their rates were extremely reasonable)), and everything else we went "classy economy"

Our biggest piece of advice for others in the same "waiting for our visa interview" limbo -- go and talk to vendors long ahead of time, and explain your situation to them, and see how flexible they can be with a potential change in dates. We did that, and our mansion owner and video/photography team were quite understanding -- they let us know the minimum lead time they needed, and they were really helpful. it also helped that we had our ceremony on a Sunday in November!

Was my wedding how I had imagined it? Nope

Was it during the time year I had always imagined it? Nope

Was everyone there that I wished could have been there? Nope

Was it the best day ever? yes, oh yes!!!!

[Cristy 4]

We did the courthouse with just us and our kids.

[babybunny 2]

seems most are having quick and simple ceremonys

and big ones later.

we are no diffrent. we married outside the USA. but we are also planning a big - out of control wedding. my parents want to make it a big deal. I am soo looking forward to the good stresses and the excitement.

[Adam M 0]

Hmmm.. I'm not too sure how to describe ours!!

Fun is definately one word.

We had next to nothing arranged until 2-3 weeks before it actually happened, but despite it costing very little, we were able to have our dream wedding on the edge of the grand canyon!

The most difficult part was arranging transport to/from the canyon for all our guests!

But if you're in the Arizona area, I highly recommend www.spiritandlight.net who perform all kinds of ceremonies - religious or otherwise. They were totally professional, and at no extra cost kept us calm through the "planning" stage.

(planning in quotes, because it's a loose description!)

Adz.

xx

[Buttons 0]

Hey Karen,

Just want to give you a idea, For my daughter during the exchanging of the rings, my husband also gave her a ring too. A inexpensive nice birthstone ring with a little diamond from Mappins. She was very happy. The minister had us all join hands and blessed our new family. Very nice and I still get compliments about it. The feel included !!!!!!!!! Just a idea !

[john_and_marlene 162]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/john73150/al...73150/my_photos

Full wedding ... in our home.

We had originally booked a chapel, but lost that when the visa wasn't delivered in time. I had already arranged for the cake and photographer and minister ahead of time and just had to adjust the schedule. I had to take delivery of the cake on the original schedule, but I arranged for the cake to be boxed in sections for the freezer and it was easy to assemble on the actual wedding day. I had to reshedule the minister and the photographer and find a day they were both available again. I had to contact all of the people that were sent invitations to notify them of the date change. I also had to pay some penalties for flight changes for the maid of honor and my father. The florist had already ordered the flowers, but they only charged a reduced amount to order new flowers. Attendance was reduced considerably because of the date change. I contacted a rental agency the week of the wedding to reserve chairs and a columns and railings and picked them up the day before the wedding. Marlene bought her dress in Makati, Philippines and I brought it back with me and took it to the cleaners before she arrived. Right after Marlene arrived, we started shopping for decorations and moving furniture out of our larger living room to make space for the ceremony and reception. It was alot to do in a short time, but we were happy with the result.

The link at the top shows how it all turned out.

[David and Karen 0]

Wow! A combination of plans for sure. I applaud those of you that were able to manage something more formal with guests and a reception etc.

I don't see that happening for us though. I think small will be the key for sure. David is relatively new to Missouri so the connections there aren't all that major. My family won't be travelling from Canada for a wedding. So I think it will most likely be David, myself and our three girls.

Initially, I thought it would be me and him and quite simple. But as time goes on and I have discussed things with all of the girls (7, 10 & 17) they want to be a part of it. Either by being there or an actual part of the wedding. So that will be tough to do and still keep it simple.

I guess I want simple but semi-formal. Ack!!

I really like the idea of giving the girls a ring. He has one daughter and I have two. The plan of incorporating each of them into the wedding is awesome! Just have to think of something that suits the three ages.

My biggest want is not courthouse and a photographer to take pics of the five of us. Our start as a family you might say.

I appreciate the insight a bunch!

Keep sharing your plans with me!!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/john73150/al...73150/my_photos

Full wedding ... in our home.

We had originally booked a chapel, but lost that when the visa wasn't delivered in time. I had already arranged for the cake and photographer and minister ahead of time and just had to adjust the schedule. I had to take delivery of the cake on the original schedule, but I arranged for the cake to be boxed in sections for the freezer and it was easy to assemble on the actual wedding day. I had to reshedule the minister and the photographer and find a day they were both available again. I had to contact all of the people that were sent invitations to notify them of the date change. I also had to pay some penalties for flight changes for the maid of honor and my father. The florist had already ordered the flowers, but they only charged a reduced amount to order new flowers. Attendance was reduced considerably because of the date change. I contacted a rental agency the week of the wedding to reserve chairs and a columns and railings and picked them up the day before the wedding. Marlene bought her dress in Makati, Philippines and I brought it back with me and took it to the cleaners before she arrived. Right after Marlene arrived, we started shopping for decorations and moving furniture out of our larger living room to make space for the ceremony and reception. It was alot to do in a short time, but we were happy with the result.

The link at the top shows how it all turned out.

What a beautiful bride and groom!! I can only imagine your frustration at trying to pull everything off. Seems as though you did it and you look very happy with the results. Your pictures are lovely!

Congrats!!

I need a wedding planner!!

Edited September 18, 2006 by David and Karen

[Cristy 4]

Yeah I wish we had gone someone for pictures, the courthouse ones suck.

[David and Karen 0]

I was just looking at a thread of wedding dress pics. Geez!! Sooooo much more formal than I have been thinking. LoL

For those of you that had more low key sort of weddings....what did you wear for your ceremony? I mean I have done the long train, veil and very expensive dress already (1st marriage). I was really planning something more simple. White or off white is still ok....I think. But simple and reasonably priced is better!

[Cristy 4]

I wore a really nice blue skirt and top. He wore navy pants and a blue button up shirt. Very casual.