International Wedding plans--Wiccan and British

American:

It is with great Joy 

we announce our 

upcoming nuptials:

Les C. Biggs

 & 

Jaqueline M. Almdale

will be handfasted

in an official 

Wiccan wedding ceremony

Saturday, June 18, 2011

10:00 am

Kamiak Butte

Pullman, WA USA

 Private luncheon 

to follow at the home 

of

Jim and Karen Barron

320 NW Joe Street.

An open reception 

will be held on

Saturday, July ninth, 2011

at

Keith and Chrisi Kincaid's farm

1251 Enman-Kincaid Rd. 

Living on a narrow boat 

means space is at a premium;

We ask guests to bring 

a pot luck dish to share 

in lieu of wedding gifts Please!

Join us for dinner, 

wedding cake, sparkling wine,

and dancing under 

the summer evening sky!

British: 

With joy and 

thanksgiving 

for having 

found each other,

Les & Jaqueline Biggs

will reaffirm 

their vows of marriage

in the presence 

of 

family and friends,

sometime in September, 2011

at a British church

to be announced. 

Reception after

also to be announced. 

We will be

in residence at home 

aboard NB Valerie, 

somewhere on the

canals of England!

Hi everyone, 

     It's me, Jaqueline--or Jaq. Les asked me to write this blog post--typical init? The wedding plans always fall to the Bride!! ;) 

     Given that we come from two different countries with different laws regarding marriage and immigration, we have an international wedding team!

     After a thorough perusal of the U.K. Border Agency web site we determined it is less time consuming, far less expensive ($2400.00 vs. $3600.00 and one less visa step) if we married here in the States and I applied for a Spouse Visa.

     In the United States one may get married literally anywhere. One goes to the county clerk's office in the county where one resides, pays a fee of $58.00, flashes one's birth certificates, tells the clerk names, dates of birth, and place of birth of one's parents, show a photo I.D, and the marriage certificate is issued. 

     The happy couple wait a minimum of three days, and then get hitched by the judge or clergy of their choice, in the presence of a minimum of two witnesses. A church wedding will have additional fees attached.

Kamiak Butte, Washington USA

We will be married in the morning on Kamiak Butte in a Wiccan handfast. My dear friend Patti Gora McRavin has gone and gotten herself ordained by the Church of Scientific and Spiritual Humanism, and the Right Reverend Patti will officiate at our ceremony. (For her inspiring love story which is intertwined with ours please continue to follow my blog.)   

     Since we will already be married when we return together in late August, we will arrange an affirmation of our wedding vows through the Church of England. These arrangements will be firmed up while I am over visiting from May 22nd-June 11th.

     While I may visit England on a visa waiver for a period of six months, Les may only visit America on a visa waiver for a period of three months. Les and I will fly back to Pullman together in June, get married, and begin the daunting Spouse Visa application process.

     There is only one shot at this--make a mistake or leave something out--the British Embassy issues an automatic denial and there is no appeal process.

     It can take up to three months--and sometimes longer for a Spouse visa to be issued, and if the British Embassy clerk in Los Angeles, California has any questions about my application they may request an in person interview at their convenience. 

     We must file a five page application, pay an initial $1200.00 fee, and include my passport, our birth certificates, Val's death certificate, my divorce decree, our marriage license, six months worth of our bank statements,  a year's phone records and any emails we have sent one another; a letter from my employer about telecommuting from the U.K., and I must have my biometrics taken at the Federal courthouse in Spokane, which will be kept on file for ten years. (And this is the easiest route for lovers from our respective countries to make legally abiding arrangements to live together until death us do part!)

     In the meantime I must find a good home for my feline friend Wee Man, who would never survive the six month quarantine required by the U.K., put my home up for sale, and winnow out most of my belongings, paring everything down to the essentials. While I am blessed with a home full of lovely things--they are only "things" and with very few exceptions, most of them are meaningless without Les.

      My deepest thanks to all who have offered their good wishes and blessings to us both. I look forward to meeting you all on the cut.
May you have joy in your journey!