Planning wedding before visa is approved

[daleguthery 305]

My fiance and I are taking the safe route and having a civil wedding first and then a formal wedding later. Easier that way.

[Dashinka 25,887]

6 hours ago, Lorna&Alex said:

Thank you so much for your detailed response!!! i should also add that we're gonna be getting married in my fiance's back yard (he has 8 acres of land) so we'll just be hiring some tents for 100 guests  

That is exactly what we did except it was at my brother's house.  These types of weddings are fairly easy to plan ahead without spending a lot up front.  Getting the guest list together is easy and doesn't cost anything.  From there you can choose invitations (we went online).  Then we reserved a caterer with nothing down immediately with a proposed date, and then made a payment after the visa was in hand and we had an actual firm date set which for us did not change s we got lucky.  We reserved the tent, tables, chairs, etc. My niece is an amateur photographer and she did the photos as a wedding gift, and my nephew is a DJ, so we were all set there.  We found some great plates, flatware and cups online for good prices, and did the refreshments from a local deli/liquor store. The last thing we set was a minister who was an ordained friend and flowers.

 

So yes, you can start doing some planning just don't drop a lot of deposits and since you don't need a church, or reception hall it makes things a lot easier.

 

Good Luck!

[3rd 84]

When it comes to USCIS, nothing is out of the ordinary and I wouldn't honestly risk setting plans in stone with deposits and such until you have the visa in hand. As others have said, you'll have time after you receive it before you have to fly to the States so you will have some planning to do between then. 

 

Especially if you want a big wedding, it not only gives you both time to save (weddings are most certainly not cheap the more people you invite), but giving people enough time to prepare to travel to your wedding destination should be a big factor. If you give people a date, they're going to book plane tickets (if you're inviting UK family) and I know I'd be hesitant to want to put that on any family and friends without the certainty of it going ahead.

 

We ended up doing a quickie wedding in Vegas (actually was a dream of mine, but it was less planned and we couldn't get the photographer and such that we would have liked) and had plans to do a family 'party' later. We're now approaching our second anniversary and still haven't planned that as our first child is due in August. We're going to do it as a 5th anniversary knees-up, currently. A simple courthouse wedding to get the requirements of the K-1 sorted is fine, then you can properly plan a ceremony and party for a larger audience down the road, which you'll appreciate as you're getting to grips with your new life in the USA which can actually be quite a shock even with speaking the same language.

[Leslie 0]

16 hours ago, Lorna&Alex said:

Hi everyone,

My fiance and I are planning on submitting our i-129f within the next couple of months - definitely before the beginning of September!! I am the beneficiary and I am from the UK...we are planning to get married in Philadelphia on July 28th 2018. We want to start planning and booking stuff for the wedding as soon as we receive NOA2 because we are going to be having a relatively big wedding, has anyone else starting planning and booking stuff for the wedding before they actually go to the interview and receive the visa in their passport?? I know it can be seen as risky but even if we wait until the 1st week of September 2017 before we submit the i-129f, that's still over 10 months between then and having the wedding in July 2018 

Hey, even when I am about to have my interview i havent reserve the place where I am going to marry because I prefer to have my visa in hand, BUT.. what I did is have all the rest, like my dress, presents for the guests, I mean , things that I am sure i am going to use. 

Good luck !

[Sneal430 18]

12 hours ago, Lorna&Alex said:

initially it was because im going out to the states to visit my fiance in September so i didn't want to submit the i-129f before i go out and visit, but a friend i met through visa journey reassured me that you can infact visit while the visa is processing as long as you have enough evidence that you'll be returning home!! so we may submit it before September if we can get all the paperwork together before then  

My fiancé also visited me in the states while our I-129F was pending. She did have additional screening so just be sure you do have sufficient evidence that indicates you will be returning home. Also, be sure to bring a copy of the NOA1. The customs officials will likely want to see them and it also helps demonstrate that you are following the rules and procedures of immigration law. When my fiancé visited she also had a letter of continued employment from her work, a letter from her daughter's school attesting that she would be returning. If you have any questions about that part I'd be happy to help or answer them if I can

[AK_2014 113]

17 hours ago, mytruelove18 said:

some here say you cant not book anything because can be elay with the visa process is truth, but you can read on the forum for United Kindong and see the approvals average for people from your country.

actualy the approvals average is 3 months at uscis, 1 month at NVC so you can figure out the timeline to get the visa.

I THINK THAT IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY RED FLAGS OR CRIMINL RECORDS AS YOU ARENT FROM A HIG FRAUD COUNTRY, I THINK YOU ARE BE OK FOR JULY WEDDING

Our friend from the UK had a totally normal petition, no red flags whatsoever, and yet was hit with huge delays, finally received the visa and arrived on a Tuesday before his Saturday wedding. He did make it in time, but by the skin of his teeth, and it was pretty stressful for all involved! Based on their experience, we wouldn't recommend making firm plans, even if you don't think you'll have any hurdles. You never know when you will. Best wishes to you for a smooth process!

[Lorna&Alex 104]

I just thought i would catch everyone up, I had a facetime chat with my fiance last night and we have come up with an amended plan. We are going to submit the i-129f by the middle of July and I will still visit him in the states in September (bringing lots of evidence to show proof of return). We still want to get married on July 28th 2018 so if for some reason I get my NOA2 superrrr quickly then I will just delay my interview for a few months  Ideally if we submit the i-129f in 2/3 weeks time then we will have completed the process by around February 2018 and will still have 5 months to book and plan everything for the wedding!! I know that nothing ever goes to plan but that would just be ideal   As i said before, we are very lucky in sense that we already have a venue as we're getting married in my fiance's back yard  I will probably start looking for my dress and bridesmaids dresses pretty soon! Thanks for all the help guys!! 

Edited June 28, 2017 by Lorna&Alex

[Hadassah123 523]

Hi!

 

I had the exact same question before and kept reading the advise to not plan before you have the visa in hand.

 

My fiance and I (me being the beneficiary) have decided that we'll only put down a deposit for our venue, as locations are going fast, but to wait with everything else until I have my visa in hand.

 

Our NOA1 is dated June 5th, and we're planning for a wedding end of April 2018. If the process goes somewhat smooth, I plan on flying out 2 weeks before the wedding. If it goes faster, I'll fly in earlier, if it takes longer - we don't mind losing the deposit money.

We had considered a courthouse wedding first and reception later, but decided against it because we're not getting married in California.

 

We may send out an online save the date within a month or so, but with a huge notification to not book anything until we give them a go. Still to be discussed though

 

Good luck preparing the paperwork!