Wedding Planning - 90 days isn't long!

[Emmylou151 44]

Hey everyone! So, if I put the visa stress in the back of my mind, the next stress I have to consider is the wedding! Just wondering what every one else did?

I don't think 90 days is long enough so what did you do? Small / big?

I am hoping to have about 30 guests, somewhere small and outdoors.

Look forward to hearing of your plans/experiences!

[YecaCruz 375]

What my fiancé and I are planning to do is have a courthouse ceremony in order to be legally married the day after he arrives. Then I won't have to worry about finding a place for him to live in the meantime. While we go through the process of an adjustment of status (and more months upon months of waiting ) , we will be at liberty to do a ceremony that includes family and friends at our own choosing.

[Emmylou151 44]

What my fiancé and I are planning to do is have a courthouse ceremony in order to be legally married the day after he arrives. Then I won't have to worry about finding a place for him to live in the meantime. While we go through the process of an adjustment of status (and more months upon months of waiting ) , we will be at liberty to do a ceremony that includes family and friends at our own choosing.

Forgive my stupidness - what is the difference between courthouse ceremony and a "usual" ceremony? Are there any "rules" on who can marry you - we were planning on using my fiancés aunt who can legally marry people. I am freaking out, I want something nice, but I don't want to stress about planning as I don't have long!

[msowen 5]

We had a small ceremony (less then 10 people - all family) 4 weeks after I arrived in the US to fulfill the requirements of the visa, then we planned a big bash for the following July, where we had 150. This allowed plenty of planning time for the summer bash, and also made that event very stress free and fun - also it was a little warmer!

Good Luck

[Miki28 91]

Hey everyone! So, if I put the visa stress in the back of my mind, the next stress I have to consider is the wedding! Just wondering what every one else did?

I don't think 90 days is long enough so what did you do? Small / big?

I am hoping to have about 30 guests, somewhere small and outdoors.

Look forward to hearing of your plans/experiences!

My friend got married in the courthouse and they have wedding later on so she can properly plan and they don't have to rush things. My husband and I did the same thing but we got married in the court house so we can file for CR1 since we thought it's a better choice than K1 for US

[Emmylou151 44]

My friend got married in the courthouse and they have wedding later on so she can properly plan and they don't have to rush things. My husband and I did the same thing but we got married in the court house so we can file for CR1 since we thought it's a better choice than K1 for US

This is what I am thinking, I don't have much time to plan a special day given the visa requirements! But then I have friends saying it's possible to plan something in that time ! so confusing on what is best to do.

[roralau 8]

We got married a week after I arrived in the USA in Las Vegas (On 5th Oct 2015 - 05/10/15 ) .

When I was 17 I did an exchange program there.

My "host mom" celebrated it and there was just us, her and few members of her family since we did it in her wonderful garden.

None of our families came.

Was there drama? OF COURSE ....and from both sides.

But that was what we wanted!

And we wanted to start the AOS ASAP!!

Plus we didn't want to/have the money to make everyone come and pay for a fancy wedding.

In a couple of years, once all AOS-GC-Immigration process-ecc.. is over we are gonna...might.... do a traditional wedding in Italy

Congratulation BTW!!!!

[templeton 120]

Assuming there's nothing barring your aunt from marrying you in the jurisdiction/county where you plan to get married, and as long as you have a valid marriage license from that county, then there should be no problem with her officiating your marriage.

Just remember, your fiance will arrive with basically no status, so the sooner you get married, the sooner he can apply for the green card, and the sooner he'll be able to work, get a driver's license, apply for credit, travel again, etc.

You can only get married once, but you can obviously have as many ceremonies as you want. My wife and I were officially married on paper at the courthouse within a week of me arriving, which allowed us to get the green card paperwork started. We then went on to have a full-blown ceremony months later with all the friends and family, going through all the motions of a real wedding. The only people that didn't know it wasn't a real wedding were the two of us and our parents. Even the officiant (a family friend) wasn't aware.

[Tracey&Greg 33]

Every state is different of who can marry you.

We kept it simple and had a courthouse wedding and invited his parents and mine plus my little guy

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

My gf did this on her K1

She went to thrift store and bought gown for $90

Had the wedding at home of parents

invited all guests with this annoucnment

we want our friends and family to come to see us united

the dinner after will be a " bring a dish to pass: celebration

someone in the family made the cake

the food was excellent as all bring their favorite foods and many bought 2 dishes to exchange

about 55 guests

someone in family did the decorations

turned out to be a beautiful affair

the comments made after were

Now, we feel you have made us part of your new family

[Heley 52]

I entered by k-1 and got married last week in Central Park town center.Only family like 10 peoples .as long as you guys legally married,it doesn't matter how big or small the wedding is

[yuna628 9,541]

There is no need to only have 90 days to plan, as long as you get organized and your case is not a complicated one.

While waiting on the process I purchased my dress well ahead of time and scoped out venues. We formulated a plan of action such as where we wanted the wedding and how much we could afford. We picked out how we wanted everything to look. When we reached NOA2 point, I started purchasing the small things we needed and then contacted the venue and our minister. They were thankfully understanding and were willing to tentatively hold a rough estimate date that could be moved if needed. I sent everyone that needed colors to match a swatch so they could plan ahead of time. By the time we knew our interview date is when I signed with our photographer and booked everyone else making sure we had at least a month and a half or so gap for him to obtain his visa and pack up his belongings. When he arrived we went to the clerk immediately and got our license, then purchased the rings. Once he was here we finished up the rest of everything else until wedding day.

Remember that even though you obtain the visa, the fiancé has up to five months from the date of the medical to enter the US, meaning that it can give you a nice gap of time to plan a larger gathering if needed.

Our wedding was on the waterfront at a park and our reception was at a restaurant. We didn't need dancing or music as we only had around 20 guests. We worked with a lot of etsy vendors and the rest of the décor was diy. The cake was purchased as soon as he was approved at interview (because they do need some time to work on it), invitations we printed and went out. Our biggest headache was co-ordinating travel arrangements for those guests.

It's a little bit stressful doing it the way we did and requires trust on decision-making.. it also requires a lot of planning out a budget, printing out photograph ideas and compromises, and researching venues carefully. You also need several backup plans to fall back on just in case a venue doesn't live up to expectations... and a support system of friends and family helps too when things get crazy. Expect to have moments of frazzle and stress and that at least something won't go according to plan... and you're going to have to narrow down things that are absolutely needed vs would be nice but not needed. Also communication! If your fiancé feels like every decision is being made without his input from far away it'll be too bewildering for him.

Alternatively you can hold a courthouse wedding and then have a larger event at a later date.

Edited December 10, 2015 by yuna628

[JFH 12,189]

We are not on a K-1 but we organised a wedding in a matter of days. Went to the auditor on the Wednesday to get the licence (this was Washington state that has a three-day waiting period between getting the licence and getting married), got a $70 dress in a sale, 2 rings for $45 each, shirt, trousers and waist coat for my husband, called two friends to ask if they would be witnesses (Washington state requires two witnesses), one of them was working that weekend and couldn't change his shift so we called someone else. Told them to meet us at 10.30 on Saturday morning. We wore shoes we already had. We had no flowers. We had no photographer except one witness who brought a camera with him. We had no honeymoon, no reception party. At 10.30 we arrived at the office to be married. They were running late because of a problem with a previous couple. We went in at 11 am and the ceremony took less than 8 minutes. We have a photo of us under the clock in the office and the clock says 11.08.

We got in the car afterwards and said that the first song they played on the radio would be "our wedding song". It was "I miss the misery" by Halestorm, which made us laugh. We went to Red Robin and had cheeseburgers. That was it.

[Miki28 91]

This is what I am thinking, I don't have much time to plan a special day given the visa requirements! But then I have friends saying it's possible to plan something in that time ! so confusing on what is best to do.

I will tell you what my dad said to me the other day. Planning a wedding should be something you enjoy without being stressed. It's Still a bit stressful but if you take your time and do things one at the time, plan enough time ahead and give yourself the space, you will enjoy it much more. So yes, it's do-able plan and have wedding within 90 DAYS. The question is. Do you want to rush and be stressed about it or do you want to get done with paper wedding at Court house, get your documents done, apply for your green card and take extra DAYS or weeks to plan a nice wedding ? You are the BRIDE. It is not your friend's Day but YOURS. You make the call, you decide what is the best for you and your soon to be husband!

[Emmylou151 44]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! It's reassuring knowing that some you got a decent wedding, in a short time, and for a small budget. Being a girl, I have thought about my wedding day for the last 15 years! And I really want it to be perfect and special, non-stressful, and not rushed. I suppose ideally, it would be more "realistic" (but not as romantic) to have a courthouse, then plan the rest later when we have money and time.

To the guys that did court house - did it make your proper ceremony any less special knowing that you were already legally married?!

I am really freaking out about it!! I just want it to be perfect. The visa is stressful enough!