Schengen Visa...

Anyone of you who's from Nigeria and only has a green passport (not those of you with dual citizenship and *red/blue passports in addition) has probably at some point or the other stood in line for a visa application.

When KOK and I chose Malta for our destination, we assumed since Malta was a Schengen State, the visa application process would be a breeze... It wasn't my first Schengen Visa, I had been to Rome just a year before...

Absolutely not! First indication was when I applied through the Maltese embassy for our site visit trip in February. They do not leave anything to chance, they called KOK to verify we were actually engaged, they called my wedding planner to verify we actually planned to meet with her, they called my employer to verify my employment, they called my health insurance to check that in the unlikely event that I need emergency medical services in the 4 days I would be in Malta, that I was covered... Finally, after theses exhaustive checks I was issued a Limited Territory Visa - permitting me entry into only Malta for exactly a period of 6 days !  It took ~ 2.5 weeks+ to get the visa

OK - they are just doing their job and subsequently after we've paid deposits and signed contracts with the vendors in Malta - this should get easier right?? Not quite...

Between the fact that you cannot apply for a Schengen visa greater than 3 months before intended date of travel and some personal trips I had planned, I didn't apply for my visa for the wedding until June 21. I had contacted the Maltese embassy to notify them that the trip in February had been great, and wedding plans were in full swing and they should expect visa applications from our guests...I confirmed the names of the guests that would be applying as well... 

Anyway, after almost calling the Maltese embassy daily since June 21, I finally received my passport in the mail today with my visa to travel for my wedding. Thanks to the fabulous folks at the Maltese embassy in DC - Mr. DG and Ms. NA. They answered my constant phone calls - even started greeting me by name. Also included with my visa was a letter wishing my groom and I all the best.

Some cool things that have happened as a result of having several people apply for visas for our wedding: 

1. Ms. NA at the embassy in Washington DC mentioned how beautiful my invitations were :) and told me I looked very pretty in the picture on the pre-wedding invitation.

2. At the Maltese embassy in Canada, my sister forgot to take a copy of the invitation but some other guests had applied, and taken their original invitation which the embassy retained on file - the consular lady in Canada says "O you're the sister of the bride, I have the invitation on file, very pretty" and pulls out our wedding invitation...

3. At the Maltese embassy in London, a friend handed over her visa documents and the consular officer says, "O you're going for K and K's wedding - you only have the pre-wedding invitation, where's your coral invite with the ribbon? " Luckily our friend had hers in her bag... 

All in all, everything has gone OK and I'm very grateful. 

*Red passport - British ; Blue passport - American

Checklist updates...

Today it's 3 weeks and 3 days left until I'm Mrs. A :) . This is the home stretch -the destination is in view -  I can't wait :) 


A couple of updates and checks off the to-do list: 

1. Over the weekend, I picked up my bridesmaids dresses for distribution - I have bridesmaids all over. I dropped off the ones going to London with my sis-in-law's sister (she's headed there this weekend), mailed one to a bridesmaid in St. Louis, MO and will mail off the two going to Nigeria this weekend to one of KOK's cousins (she's headed to Lagos next week). 
2. Had my last fitting - no pictures until after the wedding sorry - my veil also came in (veil part 1 & part 2), and everything looked gorgeous together - I'll be picking up at the end of the month, a few days before I fly out to Malta. I'm having slight panic attacks about that, hoping for some nice flight attendants on the Lufthansa flight, and hey, if it's not too much to ask, a free upgrade ;). Tried to upgrade with my FF miles but because my ticket is a heavily discounted group rate for the wedding, it's not eligible for upgrade awards :( . 
3. The RSVP's are still coming in, but the guest list is a moving target, but that's a story for another update - look out later this week. See the RSVP tracker at the top left of the page...
4. I am still unsure about my hair ! It's natural and I either wear it out as a fro (see pictures below) or in braids. Do not let the pictures deceive, it shrinks A LOT ! It's actually about 6"+ when straightened and I can put in a little ponytail... I'm planning to have a weave done, but no idea where to get it done. So if you know any great hair stylists in the Philadelphia, NJ (Jersey City area), NYC or even Baltimore, DC area please leave me a message. I am desperate ! 
5. Finally, had my make-up trial as well with Sade of HauteLook by Sadé. She's KOK's cousin, and will be doing my make-up for the wedding weekend festivities. Here are some pictures : I think I'll keep the pink instead of the red lips? What do you think? I'll do the red lips for the pre-wedding party on the Saturday before the wedding... 

RSVP rant...

This is just a quick one. But why do Nigerians have such an aversion to completing RSVP's? OK that's making a very broad generalization but still...
If you look at the top left of my blog, I'm keeping track of our rsvp responses, and it's sad especially since for quite a few of those "undecided" people are folks I know have purchased tickets and made hotel reservations. I could just mark them down as yes but I need their entrée choices.  We even made it easy, included stamps on the rsvp envelopes (for folks in Nigeria, they can drop at my sis-in-law's office), gave the option of email and online via our website - really no excuses.

Oh well I'm giving folks till this weekend, then I'm going to start calling... KOK already starting calling some UK folks, and my sis-in-law volunteered to help call UK folks too - I've sent her phone numbers... 
I'm sure people realize you can't just show up in Malta - I would think that the fact you have to consciously book air tickets and hotels would make a difference. Oh well... 


But Yay so far 100 out of 342 have responded :) Getting there slowly but surely....

In the beginning...

Malta is the location we've chosen for our destination wedding for the summer of 2011. 

The journey to Malta un-officially began earlier this year in Rome when we took a trip there for my birthday. Here's how it began: 

Pretty much all my friends were convinced he would propose. I have to admit it, the thought did cross my mind but I refused to entertain it as I didn't want to get all excited and expectant only to be disappointed.

Anyway one of my friends E said to make sure that I should eat my birthday dinner dessert carefully in the event he had the restaurant put the ring in there - to which I responded that's too cliché.

Well to humor all my friends, I didn't say anything to him and I decided to wait through my birthday trip and dinner to let him know. 

So after I carefully ate my dessert I was like oh well I guess there's not a ring in here - I then told him of the various people who were convinced he would propose.
We both started laughing and he said, " I did think about it but couldn't find the perfect size ring :) "

So I guess my friends were half right. The rest of the conversation went like this:
K - but you do know we're getting married next July right ?
Me - oh really? nope I didn't
K - so feel free to start planning :)
Me - ok .....

Over the past several months, we had begun to actively work towards planning our future together, we purchased our first home together (details will follow later) and discussed our intentions with our parents. 

A few weeks ago, his mom called my dad to officially initiate the discussions and we can now officially begin to plan for Malta. My father has declared himself the CEO of all wedding planning activities!
However, I am yet to officially receive my ring ;) I'm going to London to visit for a while at the end of this week, so stay tuned...