Where did you get married? UK or US?

Mimi..can I make a suggestion to you...

I know you stated that your boyfriend is coming over for a visit soon...I haven't seen in any of your comments that you have been to the UK or Wales???

For your sake (experience talking here) if you haven't been you need to visit before you make the big plunge and move here. I went thru the most drastic culture shock when I moved here..and I still pine for OK this time of year....

Not saying you won't like it or you won't fit in...it's nice to see how your significant other reacts in their own comfort zone.

I have been a member here for 5 years and seen alot of people come and go..and the one thing I think is a must for any LD relationships is to visit before you move..

 

I know you stated that your boyfriend is coming over for a visit soon...I haven't seen in any of your comments that you have been to the UK or Wales???

Oh girl, I will most DEFINITELY visit there before moving!! He's coming here in December/January for a few weeks and then I will be flying over there in April/May for several weeks. We've also promised each other that if I absolutely hate it...We'll change our game plan.

Hi,
I saw you were considering a destination wedding and I wanted to put in my two cents
When my husband and I got engaged we debated whether to have the wedding in the Uk or the US.We were having such a hard time with it, afraid we would offend the families with the country we chose.
So instead we decided on an island wedding.  We were married in Antigua this past April.  The cost of an island wedding is very low.  So with the budget we were going to use for a normal wedding we used to help fund our friends and family.
We knew one side fo the family was going to have spend money on airfare and hotel, so why not let them spend airfare to an amazing island vacation.
We ended up having 50 of our close family and friends on the island, and i do not regret it one bit.  It was amazing.

Hi,
I saw you were considering a destination wedding and I wanted to put in my two cents
When my husband and I got engaged we debated whether to have the wedding in the Uk or the US.We were having such a hard time with it, afraid we would offend the families with the country we chose.
So instead we decided on an island wedding.  We were married in Antigua this past April.  The cost of an island wedding is very low.  So with the budget we were going to use for a normal wedding we used to help fund our friends and family.
We knew one side fo the family was going to have spend money on airfare and hotel, so why not let them spend airfare to an amazing island vacation.
We ended up having 50 of our close family and friends on the island, and i do not regret it one bit.  It was amazing.

I absolutely fell in love with the idea of getting married in the Virgin Islands and had everything planned out as far as expense and everything...and then was reminded that my uncle will never step foot on a plane And I reeeeeeeally want him there! So I'm thinking we'll have a low key wedding and then a big ol' reception at my parents' house!

We too had a destination wedding because we had people on both sides of the family that couldn't travel due to health reasons. It was actually just the two of us and we loved it. There was no stress and no need to please anyone but ourselves. We're planning to eventually have a huge party in both countries. 

We too had a destination wedding because we had people on both sides of the family that couldn't travel due to health reasons. It was actually just the two of us and we loved it. There was no stress and no need to please anyone but ourselves. We're planning to eventually have a huge party in both countries. 

I like this idea as well, but I want our parents to meet eachother and I think it's really important to both of our mothers that they are present for the actual wedding itself. My older brother is (tentatively) eloping with his fiance on an Alaskan cruise so my mom isn't going to be able to see him get hitched and my little brother is only 18 so I want to make sure she gets to see at least one of her kids tie the knot!

Our first decision was where to live together.

I've lived abroad before, I've got itchy feet and I love hubby's home town / food / people - so at first we were going to live in America. Then we looked in the US visa requirements and realised that for financial reasons I'd have to sell my house before we could down that route, and it would take a very, very long time.

Hubby loves my home city and is craving a bit of adventure in his life, as he's never lived more than a few miles away from where he was born. His job is lower paid and his skills highly transferable, his house is rented. My job is higher paid, specialist and my house is owned. His UK visa is simpler than my US visa. So, we decided that we'll live in the UK first, with the intention of moving back to the US in a year or two or so.

The next question was where to marry. Marrying outside of the UK presents one less visa hurdle to fall at, so I'd ruled out the UK option before discussions even opened. We wanted to elope, no family, no friends, just us - so we opted for a destination wedding. We didn't want somewhere complicated, somewhere to add stress about visitor visas for him or me, or time delays or extra hoops to jump through to get a marriage licence.

We just wanted a nice place with people and processes that wouldn't distract us from what we were there for. Something like Vegas, but not Vegas. Hubby didn't like the thought. Hawaii nearly made it, but Gatlingburg in the Smoky Mountains won the day.

There's no rule to say that you can only marry once. My parents had a cheap wedding their first time around, and then 25 years later had a huge church blessing on their anniversary. It was lovely, my Mum was so happy my Dad cried throughout the whole ceremony. I can imagine they'll do the same when their 50th anniversary comes round.

My Mum says the second one was more special, not less special. in her mind the first wedding was something she had to do (wanted to do), was a requirement in order to be married to my Dad. The second one was completely optional, they didn't have to get married again / renew their vows, it was for no other purpose than because they wanted to. There's something incredibly powerful in that.

We got married in the US and in the UK. 

Double the celebrations, double the prezzies.  Can't go wrong!