DontMindMe
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- Sep 7, 2011
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I've tapped all my "real-life" resources and not gotten much help, so even though I left BA again a short time ago, I thought I'd ask this forum for some help since I'm sure many of you have faced a similar dilemma.
My boyfriend and I got engaged recently. We feel pretty awesome about it and look forward to married life. Yay! But the idea of planning a wedding (weddings??), mainly just deciding where we get married, has me a little stressed already.
Here's the deal: We now live in Bogotá, but his friends and family are split between two other Colombian cities. I was born, raised and went to college in the same large American city. If we get married where I'm from, his family couldn't afford to come, not to mention his brother probably couldn't even get the tourist visa since he's not currently working. Most of his friends probably wouldn't be able to come either due to the expense. If we get married where he's from, my family and my parents' friends could come, and our friends in Argentina and his friends in Colombia would have a better shot at being able to make it, but I'm worried that many of my friends back home wouldn't be able to afford it.
Ack. We don't need or particularly want a huge, fancy party. Don't get me wrong, I want it to be nice, but the most important thing to us is having the people we love there. It's not even that many people (I'd be surprised if the list hit 70), it's just that they're spread out all over the damn place. I realize it's not realistic when planning a wedding to expect everyone to RSVP yes. I am also well-versed in the differences between the K1 and K3 visas and all the other legal mumbo jumbo we have to consider. (The forum Visa Journey is fantastic, by the way.) This post isn't asking about where to get legally married; rather, I'm asking about the wedding/party aspect. We'll most likely get legally married in Colombia and do the K3 down the line when we decide to head to the U.S.
To the international married couples on the forum, what did you do? Did you have a wedding in one country and a reception or renewal of vows in another later on? Did you have a wedding in one place and just accept the fact that a large chunk of people weren't going to be able to come? Would you go back and change anything if you could? Now that I'm reading over this post, I'm leaning toward just having a destination wedding in his hometown and then if a bunch of people from my hometown can't come, planning a reception there at a later date.
Any advice and shared experiences will be very much appreciated. Thanks!
My boyfriend and I got engaged recently. We feel pretty awesome about it and look forward to married life. Yay! But the idea of planning a wedding (weddings??), mainly just deciding where we get married, has me a little stressed already.
Here's the deal: We now live in Bogotá, but his friends and family are split between two other Colombian cities. I was born, raised and went to college in the same large American city. If we get married where I'm from, his family couldn't afford to come, not to mention his brother probably couldn't even get the tourist visa since he's not currently working. Most of his friends probably wouldn't be able to come either due to the expense. If we get married where he's from, my family and my parents' friends could come, and our friends in Argentina and his friends in Colombia would have a better shot at being able to make it, but I'm worried that many of my friends back home wouldn't be able to afford it.
Ack. We don't need or particularly want a huge, fancy party. Don't get me wrong, I want it to be nice, but the most important thing to us is having the people we love there. It's not even that many people (I'd be surprised if the list hit 70), it's just that they're spread out all over the damn place. I realize it's not realistic when planning a wedding to expect everyone to RSVP yes. I am also well-versed in the differences between the K1 and K3 visas and all the other legal mumbo jumbo we have to consider. (The forum Visa Journey is fantastic, by the way.) This post isn't asking about where to get legally married; rather, I'm asking about the wedding/party aspect. We'll most likely get legally married in Colombia and do the K3 down the line when we decide to head to the U.S.
To the international married couples on the forum, what did you do? Did you have a wedding in one country and a reception or renewal of vows in another later on? Did you have a wedding in one place and just accept the fact that a large chunk of people weren't going to be able to come? Would you go back and change anything if you could? Now that I'm reading over this post, I'm leaning toward just having a destination wedding in his hometown and then if a bunch of people from my hometown can't come, planning a reception there at a later date.
Any advice and shared experiences will be very much appreciated. Thanks!