Wonderful Wedding

[rambler]

Hi !  
I was searching since last January and have just married the girl I first set my heart on.  So it can be done if you can devote the time, emotions, resources and energy to the project of finding a beautiful bride in the FSU.  We have now met in 3 different countries but are just starting the formalities of gaining a visa to the UK. I have collated a file of about 35 types of document for the visa application in Moscow.
Thanks are due to MarriageVisaHelp.com and Velvet Weddings in Praha who did an excellent job with the paperwork, formalities and practicalities of the process. We stayed at the Buddha Bar Hotel which has a great luxurious atmosphere and a fantastic suite with balcony, jacuzzi, 3 TVs and entertainment centre, huge bed and mountains of pillows. They will negotiate a good rate for the group.

I can say as an ex manufacturing jeweller that great prices for diamond rings can  be had in Prague.  I could have paid anywhere from from 2 to 4 times the price for exactly the same clarity and colour stones and ring in London or Paris. I know  because I looked  in detail at a lot of rings.   So I bought matching earrings with the savings!  

The wedding preparations involved arriving Tuesday, looking for a wedding dress Tuesday booking fittings and choosing one on Wednesday. Also Wednesday: Go to police to register presence in Czech. Hotel failed to register us so back to hotel. They refuse to write document for Police as it gives private details of our identity and passport numbers, so we write it they stamp it.  Back to police stn. Then I go to US embassy to get notarized statement of no impediment, Fiancée goes to Russian Embassy to get some papers. They close for the day at 11:00 and shut the window in her face --  the registry office is only open Monday and Wednesday, so we have to get 90% of the work done there on Wed pm and beg to  produce Russian embassy document on Thursday. Only the relationship with Velvet made that possible. Thursday - visit the shortlist of restaurants for the reception on Saturday, choose one, book it.   Go to jewellers to make final choice on Wedding rings.  They don't have my size.  Order one in.  Buy hers. Choose flowers, cars and details.  Welcome guests arriving from London, Moscow and USA as they get to Prague, divert them to the Restaurant where we are having lunch.  All meet for Champagne and dinner ...   Girls have their - (don't call it a hen party whatever you do)  Girls night .    Friday  -   Get my ring, look for wedding shoes ... go for boat trip up the river.  Change rooms so I don't see the bride until the altar. Saturday ... my fiancée went off to the hairdresser at 8:00 am...  comes back late ..  very late - went shopping to buy her dog a doggycoat  ....  

She arrives in a black car outside the Registry office with 1 minute to spare .... Getting a bit nervous  by this stage, but no need - it all went very well.  Kiss the Bride ... Champagne ... lots of photographs, smiles all round.

In the Old Square in Prague there is an Astronomical Clock tower that tourists gather around to see it strike the hour.   We came out of the Registry Office at 1 minute to 1 on the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox....  there were hundreds of tourists facing us and they started clapping and photographing my wife ... surreal...  We took a stretch limo to a few places to make photographs and Prince Charle's motorcade arrived just as we got out at Prague Castle ... Police everywhere ....    A bunch of students wanted to get in the wedding photos and did.... My wife was looking super and wore the photographer out throwing poses like only FSU girls know how...  at about 3 pm we sit down to a fabulous meal at the Mlynec overlooking the balcony, the river and the Charles Bridge. Hours later ...   back to the hotel more Champagne and after a  rest off to the Buddha Bar for cocktails and some sashimi ...  Sunday to Wednesday we get some time to ourselves ... Bliss...  We take off to a spa town and get the works ... drink the water ...  

My own personal view on the visit one or many is - write to as many as you like but court just one at a time.  My reasoning is that if you are aiming high and going for a girl that is truly extraordinary, beautiful, clever, etc., then she is not going get serious about you if you are obviously not totally dedicated to winning her and her alone.

OK there is a stage when you both know that you are both still undecided and still seeing other prospective partners.  After you make up your mind, you have to go in hard and convince her that you mean it, that you won't be put off by her tests of your commitment and that you intend to marry her.  No that your will marry her! Buy a ring, propose properly, name a date and get on with making concrete plans.  We met in May last year, were engaged in December and married in March.  I am very proud and flattered that she has had the courage  to take such big steps.  Whenever she had doubts, all I would say was, This is not going to be easy ... If we focus on the negatives or listen to the naysayers, it will never happen.... We are going to concentrate on the positives.  

That is not say I stuck my head in the sand.  I wrote down all my doubts and fears.  I discussed some of them with her or her closest friend. Even at my age I have learned or remembered how wily a girl can be. She will turn you down so that she does not suffer you turning her down ... don't give up, just cut her some slack...she will make you jealous to make you more ardent, she will fight so you can make up, she will make you wait so you value her more.. she will know if you are still writing to others because a couple of them will be her friends or even her own false profile....  Not that it is totally a bad thing to let her know there is a competition going on ... Just be sure she knows that she is your favourite!  

So wish us happiness and I wish you all very long and happy marriages too.

Best wishes

R.

[GQBlues]

Congratulations Rambler!

You two make a great looking couple. Of course the pic would have looked a lot better had you shown a bit of your pearly whites. I wish the two of you many, many wonderful and happy times in the years ahead.

Cheers!

[Maniac999]

  Congratulations!
 Nice story, great pic..
 How old are you and your wife?
 

[Markus]

rambler,

Man, you sure can ramble. And she's way too good looking for you. Just kidding on both. You look like a very good couple. If I understand correctly, you
married a RW in Prague? I thought getting married in Russia was somewhat involved with red tape as me and my wife did, but you went a different route
and got married in a different country. I think that's great. Did you basically do the same thing with the approval process as if you were getting married
in Russia and then maybe a bit more by getting married in a different country? I like to see methods apart from the K1 as there's always a manifestation
of effort in the process, which, IMO, shows strong commitment.

Congratulations to you both!

[rambler]

Thank you guys and to all the RWD members who have helped me with advice over the last year or so while I was looking ...  There is nothing like experience in the field. 

The main reason for choosing Prague for me was that we could get the license to marry by mailing apostiled copies of our birth certs and passports 3 weeks beforehand and we only had to be there 5 days before the wedding to get the embassy and police docs for the registrar appointment on the Wednesday before the wedding.

In Moscow it would have required a visit to the officials about a month before - although I read there is a work-around for that.  Visas for the Russian guests to the EU were already in place or were had in a week to ten days after I booked the hotel and they had air tickets.  It was a lot of work but straightforward. I did need local help and Velvet Weddings were indispensable. 

I hope many more guys here can be as lucky as I am and find their future wives. My biggest impression of the previous year is how there is no room for ANY negative thinking or any procrastination. I did not realise that once a Russian couple have decided it is serious that they get engaged and marry much, much faster than we do in the west. 

So if you think like I did, in terms of a year or two before getting engaged and then get married a year later,  she will just think you are having a joke.  We got serious in November, engaged in December and married as soon as I had all my papers translated from French / English to Czech + 3 weeks to book it all. 

On the engagement day I was expected to name a date for the wedding.  So if you are a few steps behind me - be prepared for a faster than normal trip to the altar!  With FSU girls, Action speaks - words are zip and be prepared to put your money where your mouth is.

R

 

[Vaughn]

Rambler ~ nice report, photo and story...

Many many years of wedded bliss to you!

[jj]

Much happiness to  you both.  It sounds like you both clicked and looked forward to a life together.  Great pic!