Wedding Plans Question

[Meisha&Jake 869]

We had a small ceremony with a justice of peace & immediate family present  full wedding day/party with renewed vows in a few years down the line so we can plan/save for it fully!

[Tara & Rohit 224]

@Hobidyali I've called different venues and companies and explained the situation. Everyone has been very understanding and accommodating.  No set plans have been made, however, I have purchased a wedding dress and a couple of decor items based on the theme we're going for. I've simply asked what the minimum amount of time is needed to call before it's too late. Most every venue and company has said a month. So far the plan is a small yacht during a Saturday afternoon and Publix is making the wedding cake hahaha!

[Hobidyali 267]

6 minutes ago, Tara & Rohit said:

@Hobidyali I've called different venues and companies and explained the situation. Everyone has been very understanding and accommodating.  No set plans have been made, however, I have purchased a wedding dress and a couple of decor items based on the theme we're going for. I've simply asked what the minimum amount of time is needed to call before it's too late. Most every venue and company has said a month. So far the plan is a small yacht during a Saturday afternoon and Publix is making the wedding cake hahaha!

Aww that sounds amazing, youre actually a month before me so hope all goes well for you !

 

I have a really small family so eventho I wish for a nice wedding, it's probably not practical lol. I would love to see pictures of your big day once it happens allow with everyone elses'.

 

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

[jcra615 53]

My husband and I did a courthouse wedding with just my mom, dad, and brother in October 2016. On our one year anniversary in 2017, we had a large ceremony and reception will all our friends and family. 

 

Good luck to you! It is a challenging and long process, but it is so worth it in the end! My husband got his K1 in August 2016, and now he is less than a year away from applying for his citizenship

 

[Hobidyali 267]

21 minutes ago, Meisha&Jake said:

We had a small ceremony with a justice of peace & immediate family present  full wedding day/party with renewed vows in a few years down the line so we can plan/save for it fully!

Hmmmm..." full wedding day/party with renewed vows in a few years down the line so we can plan/save for it fully!"

 

Great idea, thanks.

[Hobidyali 267]

Just now, jcra615 said:

My husband and I did a courthouse wedding with just my mom, dad, and brother in October 2016. On our one year anniversary in 2017, we had a large ceremony and reception will all our friends and family. 

 

Good luck to you! It is a challenging and long process, but it is so worth it in the end! My husband got his K1 in August 2016, and now he is less than a year away from applying for his citizenship

 

Congrats !

 

I  am Cuban American actually and we know how to have a party, because of these family traditions is  why I am feeling sad to not have a wedding that fits into what I envisioned but in my case my family is small, we will probably go for a smaller ceremony and have a get together at home.

 

Thanks for commenting !

 

 

[Hobidyali 267]

58 minutes ago, TandSarahJane said:

we are planning to go to las vegas so its a little tourism for her, pictures can be good (our courthouse is no cameras/phones allowed), low cost. And then do a big convalidation in the phillipines in a year or so

THis is a great idea, I will definitely think about it, how does that work if not living in Nevada?

[Hobidyali 267]

1 hour ago, RJandHamid said:

The adjustment has taken time, as expected. If you live in/near Orlando like your profile says, I know there is a large community of Moroccans in that area, so it might be good for you to stay there for awhile. 

 

We live in the Chicago area. Not a lot of Moroccans, but still a large number of Muslims from other countries. And the few Moroccans we have met, my husband really hasn't been able to form much of a friendship with them. The only exception is the other Moroccans we have met who also came to the US on a K1 or CR1 visa recently! 

 

The hardest adjustment for him was first not being able to work for several months and being bored and feeling unproductive. That's certainly one of the biggest negatives of the K1 visa in my opinion. He's now been working at Burger King for about 1 year. Started as a crew member and quickly was promoted to assistant manager. He's started job hunting again as he doesn't want to work in fast food forever. We are going on vacation to Germany and Morocco soon and we'll be gone for 3 weeks. When we come back he'll be going on a full scale new job search!

 

And of course, he misses his family and friends in Morocco. He tries to call his mom every day. We both like to eat Moroccan foods, and lucky for me he can cook most Moroccan dishes. We eat a lot of tagine and lentils! 

It seems like he's adjusting rather well, that's awesome, has he been able to attend college courses? I am assuming this can happen once AOS is done?

 

[Sarah&Facundo 576]

We had more of a smaller, but traditional wedding. When you have the visa in hand, you have six months from the medical date. I booked everything with 3 months notice, had a traditional gown, and music/dancing, etc. We were married within 2 weeks of my husband's arrival an applied for AOS a few days later once we got the certificate. We actually had our wedding ceremony in the middle of Central Park in New York City! The permit was $25 and you only need to apply for it 3 weeks in advance! Then we moved to a venue by a trolley and had a nice party! It wasn't too over the top, but it was easily planned in under 3 months. A lot of people do the courthouse route too. 

 

We will also likely have a second wedding in Argentina for friends that could not come, although his parents and best friends did apply for B2 visas immediately once my husband got the K1 and made it for the wedding which was so awesome!

Edited December 12, 2018 by Sarah&Facundo

[Tara & Rohit 224]

3 minutes ago, Hobidyali said:

Aww that sounds amazing, youre actually a month before me so hope all goes well for you !

 

I have a really small family so eventho I wish for a nice wedding, it's probably not practical lol. I would love to see pictures of your big day once it happens allow with everyone elses'.

 

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Small can be nice too. I'm planning about 50 people (mostly family and maybe a few friends). I would just start reaching out and call a few different places. I think you'll be surprised by how flexible they'll be (especially if you're gonna pay them lol)

[Sarah&Facundo 576]

3 minutes ago, Tara & Rohit said:

Small can be nice too. I'm planning about 50 people (mostly family and maybe a few friends). I would just start reaching out and call a few different places. I think you'll be surprised by how flexible they'll be (especially if you're gonna pay them lol)

I agree with this. Most places were super accommodating and willing to work with our situation. We actually had our wedding on a SUNDAY. This made a huge difference. Most venues, photographers, musicians, planners had availability on a Sunday so we didn't really have a booking problem. A lot of them gave us discounts too (and charge a lot more if we tried to go for friday/saturday). Our ceremony was at 3 and our party was 5-9 so it wasn't too late. Almost everyone we invited was free to come even though we sent out the invites about a month before. It was nice!

Edited December 12, 2018 by Sarah&Facundo

[Tara & Rohit 224]

8 minutes ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

I agree with this. Most places were super accommodating and willing to work with our situation. We actually had our wedding on a SUNDAY. This made a huge difference. Most venues, photographers, musicians, planners had availability on a Sunday so we didn't really have a booking problem. A lot of them gave us discounts too (and charge a lot more if we tried to go for friday/saturday). Our ceremony was at 3 and our party was 5-9 so it wasn't too late. Almost everyone we invited was free to come even though we sent out the invites about a month before. It was nice!

My venue does Sundays as well, however, they do brunch so it's harder. Saturday afternoons are easier because a lot of people want Saturday evenings (and yes it's cheaper to do afternoons). I've just told my family to "Save the Season" lol Keep a lookout anytime in Spring 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Justice of the peace at our house!

[Jaquelly 1,647]

We had our wedding in my dad's backyard. There were maybe 30 people there. Our friend is ordained, and we had the dogs with us. It was lovely. Sometimes I wish we had done a private ceremony after he arrived, but we wanted to wait for all of our parents to be there.

[TandSarahJane 178]

1 hour ago, Hobidyali said:

THis is a great idea, I will definitely think about it, how does that work if not living in Nevada?

Its super-easy. Plenty of options... you can get married by an elvis impersonator, or on a gondola, or whatever you'd like.  You will have a few days to wait on the documents to get recorded, certified, and mailed back to your address but i think the license office is open maybe 18hrs a day and most "packages" include limo transportation to get that part done. Also if you want to rent a wedding dress / tux for pictures, u can do that without dropping a lot of coin (half-day rental, etc)