here's the rental fees:http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/facility_rental_fees.htm but if you have a friend there, who knows it might be free for you guys. The place looks so serene and beutiful.

As for spending for the wedding, it first wedding for both of you, you still don't have kids so there is really no worry about spending a little more on it.

For us, this will be my 2nd (though technically the first was deemed null and void from the start, it was like kids play, done at our garage with a minister who had no license to officiate ) and I'd be his 4th wife . He's had the big fancy wedding decades ago during his first wedding, he's had a courthouse wedding, and his had a small chapel wedding. So for his 4th (AND DEFINITELY THE LAST, unless I die first) I just want something intimate and memorable for both of us and for our kids: a family wedding where we could also exchange vows with our kids. And I just want God to be a very big part of the wedding since He was the missing element in the past weddings we've been part of.




SHOW SOME PICS!!!

I am sure it will turn out great! And besides he didn't love your hair, he loved the total package.

Well we thought, since we were going to do photos there, we'd just sneak the minister in with us, the civil service we are just doing for government reasons, it would only be us, and my parents (to witness) and the photographer, because Stephen's mother wants some photos of the "official first service". So we wouldn't be renting the facility at all, just take the two minutes standing in the public garden area to say "I do" ... but I'll have to check with my friend to see if we could do that. If not, we'll just be having the civil service at a local park close to home, with my parents and the officiant. In the end, that's just the technical service, the family one in September is much more important to us. There are plenty of pretty public parks around here, or even the Arboretum at NC State University, better yet Pullen Park (close to NC State University) in Raleigh. It's beautiful and has places for the children to play. I believe if you wanted to have a function there it is rentable. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, in terms of outside vs. inside. There's lots offered in this area, in lots of price ranges. I'd be glad to put together information if it would help you I am sure you will find something that suits the two of you and accomplishes what you want!

I tried to get away with just having a civil service, but my parents wouldn't have it. And after the planning started, I even said it would be so much easier to go to Vegas, but my mother immediately put an end to that. Being the only daughter has some challenges in the easy department for weddings!!! The other problem is I am the youngest "grandchild" as well, and I come from a rather large family, both my parents each have 5 other siblings, so my extended family goes on and on for miles!!!! When it came down to trying to create a guest list, it kept growing by family members In the end, we will be happy to share it with friends and family.

Do let me know if I can offer any of my knowledge from living here in this area ....






Yay!!! Congratulations!!!



I'm sure it will look fabulous!!!!!

I agree with dbears, KitEEgirl - you should show us photos of your new 'do! I bet it looks gorgeous! Oh, and if you feel that it's too drastic a change at first, don't worry - I usually find that my hair looks best a week or so after it's been cut. Oh - and good luck at the interview tomorrow!


Bolded for 'applies to me'! I'm in pretty much the same situation - only I'm not the only daughter, but I am the eldest grandchild and the first to be married, which comes with its own pressures!

This will be greatly appreciated Amanda .. but maybe just after Stephen's interview... I know you already have your hands full as of now and I would feel guilty if I'd be adding to your stress dear.



If you were both my daughters, it won't matter whether you're eldest or youngest or only daughter or just one of the daughters, I would want to see you both in a beautiful wedding gown and to have the most beautiful wedding... especially since this will be the first time (and hopefully the last time and only time) that both of you would be getting married.

Seeing even one of her daughters wear a wedding gown is one of my mother's greatest frustration... and I will yet to fulfil it when we have our wedding (ceremonial wedding which will be a renewal of vows sort of thing) in the Philippines in 3-5years from now.

When you have daughters of your own, you will fully understand why mothers are making such a big fuzz about their daughter's wedding (in the same way that we only came to fully understand the immigration process now that we are going through it). Your wedding is not only a gift for yourself but also a gift for your mothers. So bear it all and be the most stunning bride ever.

Amen to that! I love thinking of being able to grow nice and old with Alex. I have dated guys where the whole focus was on the present and who I could not see myself growing old with, but with Alex this is certainly not the case.


I really hope that you can indeed fulfill your mother's desires and I am sure you will look stunning in a wedding gown when you renew your vows in the Philippines!

You are right...I've been thinking of the wedding from a rather selfish point of view and I forget that I owe it to my parents, particularly my mother, to look good, too...I'll do my best to look happy and beautiful (even if I am surrounded by slimmer, more beautiful friends!)

Rachel, you WILL be the most beautiful girl on your wedding day! Just remember that Alex would be marrying you not anyone else! And being really slim does not equate to being more beautiful than all the rest... You are BEAUTIFUL, NO IF's, NO BUT's!

It's actually not as drastic as I'd hoped! It looks good, but the highlights could definitely be lighter...As my Mom would say... you get what you paid for.. it was pretty inexpensive, so I'm ok with it!

Is it lunch time yet? I'm starving!

Not a problem at all. I'm not too stressed at the moment, or should I say today. Now tomorrow, it could all be different, considering yesterday was a panic day!!!! Any my head is spinning about dress choices. I've got it down to 3 dresses, but I can't seem to make the "final" decision!!! Anyone interested in viewing the pics -- I'm willing to take input I can post the dress pictures .... most everything else has already fallen into place, at least I think it has!

I'll ask my parents too about places around here, let me know what your "ideal" place is, if it's just for you and Ricky and the kids, or others, etc.

I wanna see, I wanna see!

Sure, show us the pictures!

Ok, here they are:

Where there are colors, if it's not navy blue (on a front or back) it would be navy blue on my dress So that applies to two of them, the other one is all white (although I'd probably get that one in ivory or champagne)

Decisions, decisions ......

All three are beautiful!!!

My preference would be for the second, but as Dawn says, all three are gorgeous!

I second that

I think they are all great. Which one do you feel most comfortable in? I ended up buying the first dress I tried on...

When you find "the dress" you'll know.. it'll just go on like a glove....

They are all lovely, I particulary like the navy inset havent seem them like that before, you will look gorgeous whatever you decide on.

Well that is the problem ... I feel comfortable in all 3 of them!!!

All three of these are flattering on me and fit just right. The two with color are by the same manufacturer, infact, they are same dress, just different color & beading detail. The all white one is a different manufacturer, but it's technically same style, and fit just as well.

My original choice before I went to try any on was the one with the full color train. I hadn't really looked at the other color accented one until I was at the bridal shop and tried it on. And I liked it too. So my choices are really between the two color accented dresses. I liked the all white one, but I wasn't planning to wear an all white gown.

So it just comes down to which details I like better ... navy blue train, with navy blue covered buttons down the center of the train, and more beading detail on the navy blue, or the navy blue bust line and navy blue edging on the back, and the white train, which has much more detail on it. The cool thing you can't see in the photo of the color one with the white train (#2) is that the color edging panels run past the edge of the bottom of the dress by about 2 inches, then the train continues past.

I'm leaning towards #2 myself, especially since trying them on ... it's just a tougher decision than I imagined

Alfred Angelo Dresses

That's the brand of the ones with color accents, there are all kinds of different styles!

Those really are some quite amazing dresses for the price!

Exactly ... and I don't know if it was luck, or what, but the store I went to (it's like in an Outlet area of North Carolina) - they have them for less than the manufacturer suggests ... can't complain about saving some $$ there!

I love the website. The dresses are great.. I am kind of stuck on your first choice. I think the navy is great there!

I like the second, I have been eyeing that one for awhile myself it's so pretty all of the detail and the backing is real pretty

I'm worried!! Paul sent in the packet last monday it arrived there last wed the 9th, he called and they said it hasn't been processed :S Does it usually take that long to get an interview date? Is there something wrong with the packets you think?? I would feel so much better knowing a date!! Preferably soon. They said they would look into it and call in a few days, do you think they really are looking into it?

I'd call daily.. haha I'm impatient but it its not costing anything to call right?

Thank you. i will still need to discuss things with Ricky and then I will let you know. But we might end up making plans till after the interview. I can't flood him with everything, it is always one step at a time. The poor guy is not yet done with tax return, he is still rushing right now... see what would have happened had I let him do everything for our I-129F ... right now he has not compiled all the things I would be needing from him and my interview is in a month's time. (When we called the embassy here on April 1, we were offered April 9, April 22, April 29 and whole month of May to pick a date for interview and I had to chose May 21 so he could have plenty of time to compile the needed documents to send me--and it is just I-134 and supporting documents really coz he already have the other stuffs when we sent I-129F and I already have a copy of 98% of I-129F coz I was the one who made it) I am just grateful that he is not the one going to the interview and be filing up all these forms and compiling these documents needed on my end. That would have been more stressful on both of us. Well, he is still my guy and I'm sticking with him and in fairness to him he have other strengths and numerous admirable qualities.


As for the dress: All 3 are lovely dresses. I like the details of the front portion of gown number 1 best but I like the back portion of gown number 2 better. GOSH! tough decision!

So here is my latest "wedding" problem...it's not really a problem, just an obstacle I suppose. Marco's sister is going to be in the wedding, along with my sister........well try getting the same color dresses for the girls let alone the same dress! I am on a mission to find a dress that can be ordered in both the US and Germany that matches my color, etc......

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Well, Alfred Angelo dresses are available in the US, UK & Europe ... www.alfredangelo.com

I was worried about that aspect too, but in the end, I gave my best friend and other female friend who is standing up, the option to choose their dresses. I just told them what color and it had to be floor length. I didn't want to get into the battle of the dresses with either friend. And I want them to be comfortable, so figured easier letting them choose - but that was just my solution to keep everyone happy. But I do get to see the dresses before they buy

Then again, if you know her size, you could order the dress, etc. I am sure there have to be other brands that are sold worldwide ...

I am afraid to order her a dress. IF it doesn't fit right, we only have a few days before the wedding.....they'll be betting here like the Wednesday before we are getting married...

There is a dress on alfredangelo that is absolutely perfect, but it seems they aren't in Germany.. BUMMER!

As far as picking the colors....."blue" isn't the same "blue" everywhere.. so I am going to have just settle for "close" I suppose...

I completely understand, I gave up on that battle too ... my best friend lives in Houston, and my other friend lives about 1 hour away. So I have to trust that when I said Navy Blue, they understood

Well what about buy a dress off the rack when she gets here? David's Bridal carries bridesmaid dresses in stock ... I know, because I got one for a wedding days before it happened ... got lucky not needing alterations.

If it's not one battle, it's something else

And that stinks about not being in Germany, the site shouldn't say UK/Europe then ... it should just say UK!!!!

Nicole ... here's a link to a site that indicates they have stores in TN and Germany There were a handful ... don't know prices/timing, but thought it might help.

http://www.venusbridal.com/store_locator.php

I just put in a search for bridesmaid dresses in Germany - and got a bunch of sites back, did a little digging ... dunno, might not be that helpful

Quite understood ... I've taken care of all the paperwork, even his embassy paperwork, because he was afraid of screwing it up somehow. So I filled it out and sent it to him.

Anytime is fine, it is not a bother at all to me. It will actually give me a break from my own crazy planning & worries So just hit me up when you start getting your ideas together!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

This is perfect!

Glad that helped .... there have got to be more out there ... if you need more than that site, let me know, I'll dig some more, or I'll ask Stephen since he's over there ... his abundance of knowledge about clothing in Germany (and Europe in general) is scary at times!

Amanda, maybe you should also consider a career shift towards being a wedding consultant. i think yo'd be a huge hit

Hee hee ... it's a possibility ... but for now, I have to keep my current job in continued support of that lovely I-134 Affidavit of Support But one day, I am getting out of this field, been in it almost 13 year now, and I've had enough of it

So I tried cutting the grass again today.........and atleast I didn't break the lawnmower this time but I broke the weedeater!

My lawnmower is 10 years old, and is a riding mower.. to get it to start you have to spray engine starting fluid into the filter....I seemed to have mastered that! Although, I got my nice old neighbor to start the weedeater and then in the middle of it, it just died and that was it... so I have a cut grass, about 1/2 weeded.... I really need my hunnie to come home!

It's so nice for you to bring our January thread back up.....

You must have been frustrated when the mower died out.... but at least in 14days you have somebody to cut grass for you:) SOO EXCITING!

Latest non-visa related news with me is that my 8 year old son was circumcised just 2 days ago... there is a stigma here in the Philippines about any male who is not circumcised so my son has been bugging me to allow him to go for it coz some of his friends is already circumcised.. i have been putting it off for awhile coz I get more nervous than him... but I finally relented and I was just holding his hands during the whole procedure, he didn't even cry while I already wanted to cry already.

Well, the pain of being a mother... mothers do feel their kids pain: emotional and physical, twice as strong as their kids who are facing those pain.

Oh wow! What a big decision and how great of you to let him make that decision! I have already decided that if I have a son in the future he will not be circ. since my fiance' is not. Although you bring up a good point about if "all his friends have theirs cut why can't he" LOL.....wowsa....cannot believe an 8 year old made that decision! I have to say as an adult that has ummm been with both I actually prefer a non circ penis myself heh heh but yeah to each their own I suppose hahaha!

WTG Mom for letting your son make his own decision! That should be a logo..."Let it be their own decision for circumsicion" heehee

Gay, my son is 9. I brought him to the doctor for circumcision 2 years ago. The doctor didn't let me stay in...I was crying outside.
I know what you feel dear. Good decision!!! We wish your son to recover as soon as possible.

Hugs
P.S. no news on our case. Randy called them...they were very politе but short

hello, I am feb. fillers and until now we didn't receive a noa1. my fiancee called to the vsc, the man said that due to huge backlog from june 2007 and sinced they increased a fees. also said that noa1 now may take 17 weeks to reeive.

hoping to to have noa1 soon.

lady23

I have allowed my kids to learn how to decide for themselves and for life changing decision, we discuss the pros and cons together so they are used to deciding matters like this.

if i am to have my way, i won't have him undergo circumcision but then he had been asking me for over a year now.. he actually decided summer last year that he's have it by december but I was the one who has always been hesitant.



I feel lucky then that I was allowed inside.. at least i was able to hold his hand.. yesterday we went back for dressing coz the gauze had sticked to the skin and it was painful to remove (it was my fault, i should have taken it out soon as we got home the other day) My son was in pain but he didn't cry out loud, I just cried for him... as mothers we always want to have our kids pain instead of them suffering.

re your case status.... I hope Randy would keep on trying tell he be able to speak to somebody who could really tell him something... My heart just breaks for you Rina, I hope and pray you'd receive good news before this month ends. You know I always include you in my prayers.





What? No NOA1 yet?? it's been two months? how about your check were they cashed? he should really ask them what's going on, there are March filers getting approval already and you still don't have the NOA1.. if you can check with some of the April filers, some of them didn't get NOA1 coz their papers were lost or something and they had to refile again... I hope you could get in touch with those people also.

I'm wishing you all the luck and pls do stay strong always..

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

I'm leaving on a business trip in a few hours ... but not all bad, Stephen is coming over to the UK from Germany for the week, so at least I don't have to be buried in work!!!!

I hope everyone waiting for their NOA2 gets them very soon!!

Dawn - I wish Darren (and you) the best of luck on his interview later this week! You'll be together again soon!!!


On a side note, I bought (well ordered) my dress this morning .... I've been stressing all week (probably about the dress) and then after making the purchase, seemed all the stress just disappeared!!!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately... My work put a new tracking system on the computers that shows where everyone has been on the internet and then a report is generated and sent to our bosses... That's the benefit we get for being bought by Philips!

Bummer huh?

I hope everyone is doing well.. Any new news?

I'm patiently waiting until wed, then having Paul call again for an interview date! hehe It sucks not knowing a date he will be here, every other time that he had left we always knew when he would be coming back, now it's all up to the interview date ahh!

I know exactly what you mean. best of luck getting a quick interview date!!

I hope my school never does that...even though it's never when I'm supposed to be teaching!!!

Quiet today....

just got out of work 3-11 tireddd well at least tomorrow when I wake up Paul may have an interview date for us *fingers crossed* I'll either be really happy or really down and have to go to work :S until tomorrow...

I hope that you wake up to good news!!!

hello,

i am a feb. filers of k1, but untill now no noa1 yet. my fiancee called to the vermont service center, and the man said noa1 takes 15 weeks too... where did you file your petition?

lady23

That seems long. Did you pay by check? Was the check cashed? If so, there is a receipt number on the back.