Yeah - not just that but you end up having to be in certain places at certain times and ohhh - it made an interesting trip but it was pretty stressful at times! The following time we used RoomSaver magazine as our bible


I know - don't you just love men!? But at least it is clean!!

Looks great Aly

Loving the way that pools are totally common in Cali

Yes, no???

Yeah - it's a communal one, but at least it means we don't have to clean it


Sounds good to me but kinda undermines the whole wiki thing... I think... ?

Not at all, the wiki is really hit and miss at the mo, it's defo not as comprehensive as the guides, so people just come back to the forums to finds answers anyway. This way there's an obvious link to the wiki from the UK forum.

K well it might take me a while to get around to it. I'm going to Ireland tomorrow till next thursday, and my internet access will be a bit more sporadic than usual.

That´s not a wedding dress it´s a balerina dress

OMG Just cut the whole out eh?

Oh sweet Jesus H. Christ. Yes the Redneck weddings show I have not seen, but I have lived through some so there is no need to watch. I've been to weddings where the groomsment wear jeans, sh*tkickers and cowboy hats, and the women wear cowboy hats with their ugly bridesmaid dresses.

The camo wedding kills me. I was looking at caketoppers on ebay and there was one that had a bride and groom in camo with them both holding guns. If that doesn't say love and romance I don't know what does.




It's fun until you arrive in a town with every room sold out hahaha! I've nearly had to spend a night out on a beach, but luckily I found a room at the end of the day. Then again this happened in France on Bastille Day weekend so I should have known better

That´s weird...yesterday it still worked...JULEZ

I already posted a new linky, which is now probably a few pages back!

Quit messing with my LIFE!

We had that in Sedona - we got there late and it was booked up completely - we managed to get a place for the following couple of nights but we had to drive allllll the way back up the mountain to Flagstaff that night - it was awful!!

You can thank me later:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=129442

I'm popping in to say hello. Can't believe this time next week I'll be getting ready to go to the rehearsal. My so called small wedding has increased from 40 to 70 people due to cousins being offended and 16 year old stroppy sisters wanting to bring the boyfriends they have known for 3 weeks and the cost has gone up by almost $1000. Got the reception sorted today and finally decided on the menu so absolutly no one else can be added. I really need some zinfandel right now. Stress levels are at an all time high. This is all too crazy. Plus this weather better sort itself out for a week on saturday. Had constant thunder since yesterday and half of grand island IS an island as the other half looks somewhat oceanic. GRRRRR.

Wow, that´s gonna be big I hope your planning is soon over so you can just start enjoying yourself

*Sending some sun your direction*

Lovely Julez!




agreed!!!




soooooooooooooooo jealous of your patio!!!!!

Maybe we can do a road trip to come see you in PS & get spa treaments. How fun!

maven - if you are anywhere REMOTELY near here, you MUST MUST MUST go. The bedroom has a cow print bedspread, a Texas flag bathmat.shower curtain & the bathroom has SALOON DOORS. It was so fun!

http://www.bigtexan.com

No lie. And the steak is amazing!

That looks awesome -- but unfortunately it is really out of the way. We're taking I-10 and that's on I-40.

I do note they have 54 rooms in the motel...with limo service from the airport...and a Texas-shaped pool... do I detect a VJ getaway in the future? Hmmmm... although Palm Springs spa stuff sounds right up my alley!

Spa times - yay!

The men can hang out somewhere else & drink beers.

Awww sweetie At least you get to have a rehearsal though - we did all of ours remotely then just kinda went with it!! I can't wait to see the piccies - I bet you look beautiful And in the grand scheme of things, the extra $1000 will buy you memories you will never be able to replace When it comes to money stuff, I just tell myself that this time next year we will be in a different position and I would prefer to spend a bit extra now for the memories than look back in a year's time and wish I hadn't worried so much about it (that's me justifying the mahoosive amount we spent in Hawaii )


Yay!! I love the little patio too - I soooooooo hope we get the apartment - I have really talked myself into it now so will be bitterly disappointed if we don't get it For a first home together while we save for a mortgage I think it will do nicely - then we just have to find a house to buy in Palm Springs

And by all means, come visit - I will need to have friendly faces as I don't know how long it will take for me to make friends! I could prolly use a spa too - am really going to miss my baths

good morning uk

I say yes.

That way people who may not see the wiki otherwise will be directed there, and the wiki pages can be kept up to date whereas the OP of a thread cannot.

Sounds good to me

Just have to make sure nothing is missed in the post... maybe it could be locked as well so it was just a page with wiki links?

Hi from Ireland!!!

While the thread could be locked (though it doesn't have to be), the wiki pages won't be, anyone can edit/correct/update them. So the link will go to the wiki page that would hopeully stay up to date, and laid out in a manner that is much easier to get info from than a thread.

Curses, what happened to our summer? Although at least I don't have to nip out to the brother in law's house every day to water his lawn while he's in France, now.

Roll on Iowa summers!


Stu

Yeah - the only reason I suggested a locked thread is because it would prevent people from burying info in pages that are not really needed - really it is kind of a directory for FAQs commonly seen in the UK forum, so there might not be any need for further questions...

Of course people might want to ask questions about things that aren't in the wiki pages so maybe we could have a subtitle for the thread saying something like "links in the first post" (I know it sounds dumb but I am sure there are people out there who need this kind of direction)

Now who's going to approach the mods...?

*peers at Poiteen*

good morning uk!

Morning!

*turns the heating on*

Aly the apartment looks really nice. We are going to be staying where we are with the family friend (and swimming pool) until begining of next year then look for our own place. We have just over $10K in an interest gathering savings account for a deposit. The houses around here are so reasonably priced.

Well the numbers have gone down by 14 for the wedding, family members in Cali can't make it and an aunt was rushed into hospital a few days ago so her and her hubby and 3 kids won't be coming. Not complaining as I don't know them and thats around $200 saved on total cost of reception. My bridesmaids don't have shoes yet as up until 4 weeks ago I was only going to have a maid of honor but the other sisters got all sulky so now I have had to buy 3 more bridesmaid dresses. At this point I'm really wishing we'd just gone for the simple gourthouse plan and saved all this headache. I just keep telling myself it will be worth it. So 6 days to go and my to do list stands at....

get guestbook
get bridesmaids shoes
make my reception table decorations (got all the stuff just needs put together)
finalise numbers for reception by wednesday
make guest list for ceremony to give to museum (getting married at stuhr museum)
pay for and pick up the mens suits on wed.

just think after all of this.....AOS begins.

Awww hun it'll be ok Jeremy got his suit the day before the wedding I was totally freaking. He also picked his sister's shoes as I didn't know what size they were - they were awful but it doesn't really notice On the day of the wedding, Jeremy was fixing his van and he had oil on his hands at the ceremony (he did try his best to scrub them clean!) so things do go a bit awry and work out

Ohhh - just think - once you file AOS it is fine - you can sit back and get on with chilling out and waiting

Oh! Not only that but I am moving in five weeks so I can call you and we can chat on the phone even if you don't have the net

Wow. So much to catch up on. Just doesn't pay not to log on every day.


OMG, I've bookmarked that site. I can TOTALLY see me in that dress when my daughter gets married. Click to view attachment Click to view attachment



THAT drives me NUTS..... people who post responses to a country or area they know absolutely nothing about. And they'll argue with you about it, too.



Oh. I thought the outfit de rigueur at Wal-Mart was pyjamas and slippers? Maybe it's a regional thing.



Wow. Beautiful pictures Julez. That place looks familiar. You didn't happen to get married at Harrah's in Vegas did you?

( Edited to correct Harrod's to Harrah's. )

I just got this... my brain is slow. So I'll kick it off: the Embassy is messin' with people's lives here! We want our Special Delivery and we want it NOW!!!

And yes, they did! Poiteen stepped into the breach and tried to remedy the situation, and all these demi-noobs stepped in and were saying, "oh, no that's not the way things work..." WAAAAAAH!!!

Hope everyone's having a good weekend! It's awesome weather here in New Haven. I've been spending time getting my Ford Snore-us looking clean and smelling great for the big trip. Tonight I start packing. Scary.

Oh Debz, you are still so busy Wish you could do it all in one day and then relax

good morning everyone!

Mmm I really need to keep closer tabs on this thread... but in brief, love the idea of a linked faq, congratulations to various people and the wedding pics look fab, deep breaths Debs it will all be awesome, and with regards to british summer... you blinked and missed it *laughing*

As for me, I've returned Packet 3 today, booked the medical appt for later in June, and Mark has put a deposit on an apartment for us which he plans to move in to in July - and yes I've already given him a layout plan for everything based on the floor plan

Plus, am really really really glad am only having uber small wedding (30 people) with an informal reception at his parents place. I totally could not deal with having to organise anything else right now, so full props to all the people who have and are putting in so much work!

Hi all! After a holiday weekend that had us all felled by an evil flu, I am back to work and ready to relax!

The good news is, sickness and all, we did manage to find another house, on which we will make an offer today!!

Debz, nice to see you around here and there! Hope it all goes beautifully this Saturday!! I've no doubt it will be a smashing success and then you'll have AOS to fret about!! You put my worrying skills to shame!!!

Speaking of AOS, Griff was notified that his EAD was approved this Saturday, of all days!! No ability to see how AP is coming along, but he is starting to wrry since we've already booked a trip to the UK for 20 July!

Maven, keep fighting the good fight!! Someone has to be the voice of reason here on VJ! It may as well be you and the reast of us in the UK forum!!

Well being that i'm beyond hyper now and will be sorely lacking in sleep anytime soon I can't help but share these lyrics. I posted them once before but with all we've all gone through i still think they are very very dead on in their meaning with all that those of us going through this process.

At the Beginning:


We were strangers, starting out on a journey

Never dreaming, what we’d have to go through

Now here we are, I’m suddenly standing

At the beginning with you



No one told me I was going to find you

Unexpected, what you did to my heart

When I lost hope, you were there to remind me

This is the start



And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you



We were strangers on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand, unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you



And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you



Knew there was somebody, somewhere

A new love in the dark

Now I know my dream will live on

I’ve been waiting so long

Nothing’s gonna tear us apart



And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you



Yeah



Life is a road that I wanna keep going on

Love is a river, I wanna keep going



Starting out on a journey



Life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

That gave me goosebumps!

Have a wonderful reunion tomorrow with Kris

Dawn.

Xx

Ugh. Glad you're feeling better from the flu. Haven't had it since I left Ontario, knock on wood. That's exciting about the house! Pics! Pics!!!

I'm leaving for the UK on July 14th! Are you flying direct from Buffalo or do you have to fly to Chicago or JFK or something, first? Who are you flying with, Julez? Hope you get your AP by then!

OK, here is the latest home. Fingers crossed that the third is the charm!!

http://hfe.buffaloniagarahomes.com/propert...property_type=1#

The pics don't really do it justice, though I do acknowledge that it needs a bit of fixing up, but at just under 2,000 square feet and the super price, will I complain? NO!!!

We are flying to Manchester from Buffalo via that armpit of an airport Newark, NJ. I feel pretty confident we'll have Griff's AP by then. Famous last words!!!

That new house is lovely! I have house envy.

do you not like Newark? I find it infinitely preferable to JFK.

Thanks Robin! Hopefully, this house works out!!

As for Newark, I'm not a huge fan. I usually fly via Philly and I really love that airport. Thankfully, we don't have to spend too much time in Newark! I can't compare to JFK since I have never been there! Can you believe it???

Marta - if she is anything like me, she would do it all in one day then spend the next ten years worrying that she had done it all too fast and therefore *must* have missed something

Julez - the new house looks WONDERFUL!! OMG - house envy? It makes our modest apartment (almost ours I should say) look a bit pathetic... But I am soooo in love with Palm Springs so maybe I'll not worry too much

And we have a pool

(*coughs* almost)

Thanks Aly!! Our offer will be presented this evening and I am a wreck! I totally didn't agree with Griff on our offer. I think we are lowballing the guy and don't feel good about it. Hopefully, the guy won't be too offended and will counter with something that we believe to be reasonable.

As for you and your apartment hunt, well, I am sure it will work out! I mean, regardless of your eventual home's size, you will be living in PALM SPRINGS for God's sake!!!

If we get this house, it means we'll have a pool too! Above ground, but what the heck, its still a place to swim right in my own back yard!

I am so joining the Aly-Debz worry-aholic club!

Oh dear - we are going to all need group therapy after all this... cocktails in Palm Springs anyone!?

me too.





If I ever set foot in EWR again, it is too soon. Am currently trying to book a flight into JFK or LGA but they are far more than EWR. Still, I will pay it - all my friends/business is on the East Side of Manhattan/Brooklyn.

Ditto. On the one hand, I can get to it by Amtrak, which is handy. On the other hand, getting through security is a nightmare. Why they think having two lanes for screening is appropriate when about 10 international flights leave around the same time is beyond me. I think the longest it ever took me was 4 hours -- I had to be rushed onto the plane.

I am all about flying out of Hartford whenever possible, even if I need to fly via Detroit or Amsterdam.

I miss Nebraska weather Chicago weather is so boring.

Oh, and Julez, may I join in the house envy? *Sigh*

My mom and dad made a very kind offer to us this weekend -- they would buy us a house in LA and then do a quit claim to us, and we would make payments on the mortgage. Then I showed my mom how much a house in WeHo or Silver Lake cost and I think her eyes rolled back in her head! It was a great idea that was always doomed to failure.