When we said we were engaged to be wed, we meant business.
We spent the first couple days of 2017 discussing scenarios based on when and where I might land my next job. It was soon clear that we needed our marriage license pronto. On this side of the pond, a marriage gives me the right to work in the EU, making me a more attractive candidate to potential employers. And on the other side, our marriage would enable Nicolas to follow me should I land something in the States.
Technically, we could wait it out. Maybe another EU-based company will snag me up before my UK visa even expires. But the clock is ticking, and should the time arrive when I really need a marriage license to prevent us from being physically separated, the process will be much more complicated than it is today, while we are still legal residents of the same country. At the end of the day, our number one goal is to stay together, so it's time to grab a one-way ticket on the wedding planning express.
After reading up on nuptial administration in the UK, the US, France, and Denmark, we found it simplest to be wed right here in England. The paperwork is straightforward, and the location is convenient for us. We talked about a courthouse wedding, just us and witnesses in an office room, but it was all too depressing. I scoured the Brighton & Hove City Council's list of approved venues for hours in search of any alternative to the fancy, £3K+ Royal Pavilion option of which we'd been dreaming.
In fact, the winning venue was right under our noses. We'd been so wrapped up in the idea of a Royal Pavilion ceremony in the grandiose Music Room that we'd all but forgotten that weddings can also be held in the Royal Pavilion's Red Drawing Room for a mere fourth of the price. Within a few hours of our ferry docking in England on January 3, we were on the phone with the Royal Pavilion staff to schedule our visit to the Red Drawing Room.
We could hardly believe it. Not only was the room cozy, intimate, and (importantly) available on all our potential dates, but it gave us access to the Royal Pavilion on tightened purse strings. We even learned that we will still be allowed into the Music Room for a photo shoot as soon as the ceremony is over. And, cherry on top, museum staff will be happy to take all our guests on a private, after-hours guided tour of the Royal Pavilion while we busy ourselves with the couple's photo shoot. Could things have fallen into place more perfectly?
We beelined from the Royal Pavilion to the City Hall, where we scheduled our appointment to "enter notice of marriage," basically to begin the UK's mandated minimum wait period of 28 days (or possibly 70 for non-EU citizens) before we can legally marry. A few phone calls later, our families had all settled on the preferred date for the ceremony, over Easter weekend.
Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. Let the countdown begin. Nicolas and I are getting married on April 15, 2017!!
We spent the first couple days of 2017 discussing scenarios based on when and where I might land my next job. It was soon clear that we needed our marriage license pronto. On this side of the pond, a marriage gives me the right to work in the EU, making me a more attractive candidate to potential employers. And on the other side, our marriage would enable Nicolas to follow me should I land something in the States.
Technically, we could wait it out. Maybe another EU-based company will snag me up before my UK visa even expires. But the clock is ticking, and should the time arrive when I really need a marriage license to prevent us from being physically separated, the process will be much more complicated than it is today, while we are still legal residents of the same country. At the end of the day, our number one goal is to stay together, so it's time to grab a one-way ticket on the wedding planning express.
After reading up on nuptial administration in the UK, the US, France, and Denmark, we found it simplest to be wed right here in England. The paperwork is straightforward, and the location is convenient for us. We talked about a courthouse wedding, just us and witnesses in an office room, but it was all too depressing. I scoured the Brighton & Hove City Council's list of approved venues for hours in search of any alternative to the fancy, £3K+ Royal Pavilion option of which we'd been dreaming.
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| The Royal Pavilion- a wedding venue fit for a fairy tale |
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| The Royal Pavilion's Red Drawing Room, where Nicolas and I will soon say, "I do!" |
We beelined from the Royal Pavilion to the City Hall, where we scheduled our appointment to "enter notice of marriage," basically to begin the UK's mandated minimum wait period of 28 days (or possibly 70 for non-EU citizens) before we can legally marry. A few phone calls later, our families had all settled on the preferred date for the ceremony, over Easter weekend.
Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. Let the countdown begin. Nicolas and I are getting married on April 15, 2017!!
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