This may seem silly but... Scheduling the wedding!?

[ISLANDBOY 21]

You can start planning whenever you want. You shouldn't set a date or make any reservations until the VISA is in hand - there's no way to guarantee you won't sit in AP for months, there won't be RFEs, etc.

If you want a big fancy floofy wedding that requires months of planning and reservations, you should probably plan on having a courthouse wedding after your fiancé enters the country on the K1 VISA, and then plan a big floofy wedding after the legal wedding.

yup this is very true, we are planning a courthouse wedding and then a big reception. doing the court house wedding insures ur in the time frame of the 90days but also you have time to get your SS,EAD ETC .

[lizascissors 65]

So we planned the big foofy wedding for next spring, anticipating that we'll have a courthouse wedding sometime this fall/winter.

IF you plan a wedding in the off season, you don't have to book AS far in advance (esp in W. NYS! I see you're Amherst! hello!). That's what we're doing. February is not a month in hot demand

[Dohan 133]

to the OP, if it makes you feel better we haven't planned ANYTHING in terms of wedding. In my engaged cloud of excitement I started looking at wedding dresses because throughout the year there are a lot of sales and such so I think maybe buying the dress is the most you can do now. Like do the small stuff you wouldn't mind or can do alone so that maybe you can have a narrowed down list of stuff to review with your better half.

We are going to do a courthouse ceremony like a month or two after he gets here (my grandma can't travel for the big wedding so at least she gets to see that) and we will have the big wedding in India on the later part of 2015, probably november-december. I know we are stretching it but we really don't want to pressured for time and we want to make sure he has his AP for the big wedding.

[LiliBurd 85]

So forgive me if this is a super silly question (or if there are a lot of threads about it), but I want to hear some stories!

My fiancé and I are in the throes of wedding planning, but the idea that we could pick a date that is before his approval or too late AFTER the approval is terrifying!

So what did y'all do?

We were thinking, ideally, we'd apply in August 2014 and be able to get married (or "married," as in venues, flowers, cake but maybe not legally, lawfully, sign the certificate yet if the visa isn't ready yet) in June 2015. We are looking at a venue when he visits this weekend. Is it possible to have a "ceremony" and reception of sorts, and then get "married" after? Or vice versa? Should we just wait until the petition is approved?

As if wedding planning weren't already insane enough...

Trust me by no means is that a silly question. It is probably one of the biggest struggles that come with the K-1 Visa, in my opinion anyway

As mentioned it all depends what is important to you. I reluctantly suggested we go that route courthouse and later on the actual wedding to try and make things easier, but as my very smart fiancé put it... If we do that we will probably never actually go through with the wedding reception, and to us it is important to celebrate the same day we say our vows and legally become Mr & Mrs. Therefore we are most probably planning a simple but elegant beach wedding in Florida. It would be ideal to get married during the off season, and for Florida this means before December and after April. I'm hoping our timing works out for me to move in February so we can have the wedding in April.

As far as planning goes I guess I already started planning for my planning. Some things can be done beforehand such as dress and shoe shopping, and choosing colors, flowers, wedding favors, etc. I guess one of the benefits of not being allowed to work when I move is that I will be able to dedicate my time to plan our big day.

Best of luck to everyone

[M and C 32]

Pick a date for the wedding only after your K1 visa has been approved.

[kehills 217]

For what it's worth (for those of you planning), we had everything basically figured out before we set the date. Decor, clothing, etc - that can all be purchased and stored. You might have to get creative on location, food, etc, but it CAN be done. (We had ten people, total, got married at home, and had our dinner out at a lovely restaurant that "matched" the decor we'd done up in our yard.) Also, be realistic about how many people can/will travel from your original home; for us, the reality was, most people we would have invited from Australia wouldn't be able to make the trip, for one reason or another. It was easier to keep things small and balanced, rather than have "the American friend and family reunion party, plus a handful of Australians."