Having a Scottish Wedding

So, the ball is really rolling now...
In less than three weeks I will be living in Scotland. My apartment is becoming more and more packed and hectic, and wedding plans are moving forward.
In the last week or so, Paul and I have decided that because of the lack of participation on my family's part it would be pointless to have the wedding in the spring. So our civil ceremony on the 24th has turned into a wedding in July instead.
Throwing together a nice wedding is never really easy, but if David Tutera can do it, then so can I!
Now... here in the states, getting married is fairly simple. Each state is a little different, but this is the basic process. Here in South Dakota, you go to the court house or register of deeds in the country you want to get married in. You pay $40 for a marriage license that needs to be used within 20 days. There is no waiting period. So once you have your license you can get married right away. In order to get your marriage license you have to bring a valid ID, like a drivers license, military ID card, or birth certificate. After you get married the person who married you, judge, or anyone authorized by the church or state to marry you has 10 days to turn in the signed marriage license or there will be no record of your marriage.
Simple right? Once you have your license you can get married in the court house, in a church in that county, in a home in that country, in a park, in a parking lot, or restaurant or wherever...
Not so in Scotland.
This is what we have done so far.
Paul called the General Registry office in Livingston last January to book a tentative date. We needed a receipt from the Registry office in order to get my visa. As the time grew closer, we were going to have the civil ceremony and I was planning a wedding on board the Lord of the Glen on Loch Ness next spring. Then Paul informed me how sad his mother was that they wouldn't be there for the ceremony as they had already planned a trip to Spain for the 24th. (Super Jealous!)
In any case two weeks ago Paul went to the Hermitage outside of Dunkeld and sent me some beautiful pictures! I have been there several times before, but it is especially beautiful this year.

 The first time I saw it I thought it would be a gorgeous place for a wedding. After seeing the pictures Paul took (Note: These aren't them, I got these off google because I haven't uploaded the ones Paul sent me, but his are even better then these because the trees are all flowering on them, it the colors are just really beautiful!) I thought, "Why not see if we can tie the knot in Dunkeld?" It would make the day really beautiful without adding much of a cost... as you can see the place takes no decorations, and is a lot prettier than the inside of a court room. I asked Paul who said he would check. When he called he found out that not only could we not get married in Dunkeld, because you have to get married at an "approved venue" plus a bunch of other paper work that made it impossible, but also that the Registry office had been sending him notices to his old address requesting some forms that needed to be turned in by June 1. With such a short time period, Paul and I talked it over and thought "Lets push the date back, so we don't have to feel rushed" also, we can invite Paul's parents as well.

I talked to my family members, and with so much going on, and the economy being such as it is, no one could say for sure if they could come...so we decided not to do anything this spring and have a small wedding in July, and then have a small reception at the Inn on board the a Canal Boat that floats up and down the Union Canal.

The Inn

 

When Paul called to change the wedding date, The registry office said they were already booked for that day, we thought about changing the date again, but I will be 32 weeks then, and I feel like 31 weeks is pushing it, I'm already tired as all get out at 27 weeks, and I want to be able to dance at my wedding and not have my water break! We saw that the Inn is a licensed wedding venue, so we asked the Livingston office if we could get married at the Inn instead. They said that wasn't in their district, we would have to contact the Registry office in Edinburgh instead.

So I called Edinburgh, and they have four Registry workers available to marry us that day, as apparently they are the only ones licensed to marry you... which is kind of sad I think. Seems to me like that makes it so impersonal... but.. oh well... in any case, I called them and they have 4 people available to marry us on the 16th, but in order to get married, We have to book the Inn, get something called an AT1 form from them. Fill it out and both Paul and I have to sign and send it in. That's easier said then done since I am still in the states. Then I have to fill out two other documents, and provide them with both our original birth certificates as well as my original divorce documents so they can make sure that I am legally divorced in the UK, because sometimes the divorces here aren't found to be legal in the UK... which will super piss me off if that's the case. I'm assuming though that if the UK embassy gave me a finace' visa they found my divorce documents acceptable, so I'm not really worried. Then we have to pay another 280 pounds to the registry office in Edinburgh... I think we will probably end up eating the down payment Paul already put down at the Livingston office, but I guess that is how it goes... In any case... all this legal stuff is really irritating and makes planning a wedding incredibly tedious and miserable... which I assume is why anytime I talk to Paul about what we need to get done his eyes glaze over, his voice gets distant, and he acts about as excited as someone being forced into an arranged marriage before telling me that he can't listen to all this anymore because it's making his head spin... so I don't know... maybe we will get married... or maybe none of this stuff will get done and we will end up wasting time and money before I get sent back to America...

I'm not irritated at all right now...

The thing is we can't really start the fun stuff of the wedding, like what music we will have, flowers, and invitations, and all that until the stupid but necessary stuff gets done... even so, I've made some mock up invitations that I am quite proud of.

In any case, hopefully once all this boring, expensive legal stuff is taken care of, and we start planning the fun stuff I will feel like Paul wants to marry me again.