Plans are afoot
With the possibility of the Visa being approved any day more and more likely we’ve been turning our thoughts to fixing a few dates.
- Leave the UK. Planned now for Friday, November 28 (Black Friday). It means I’ll miss Thanksgiving, but I will get a whole extra month’s pay. This should sync okay with the hoped-for start of November Visa issue date.
- Wedding. We have to get married within 3 months of my setting foot in the US, so after much debate in which we considered having a simple civil ceremony in December followed up by a celebration in the summer, and various other options, we decided to time it for the UK schools winter half term break. That should allow my family to attend if they want. So we now have set a provisional date of February 20 2009.
Having got dates we then entered into the world of wedding planning, where we have to think about such things as: how to accommodate potential visitors; what the weather might be like (anything from tee shirt to ice storm) and not least; what sort of ceremony / celebration we want. It took time but we’ve got the general idea fairly clear in our heads now and we’ve (well, Ginger) found some good resources on the Internet. I’ve started informing my friends and family what the dates might be, with an emphasis on the might. Until the visa comes through nothing is really certain.
One thing though, just making the plans makes it all feel even more real and increases the urgency. I want to be out of my apartment a month before I leave so that I know I’ve either got my things: on a boat to the US; in someone’s loft; or on a rubbish tip. It also means that I have to have all my mail forwarding etc. sorted out. All this to organise, and embassy and medical examinations to fit in and only six days vacation between now and then to do it. I do make challenging situations for myself.