Just a quick note to explain the lack of posts - we are away for a few days, as I previously mentioned here. We are back soon, so I'll be posting again in a few days. In the meantime, read all the fun in the archives again. Or click a link. Or find something else to amuse yourself with.
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Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Funny search results
I couldn't resist posting about this...
I'm the number one search result on a major search engine, whoo-hoo! I feel very special. It's on Yahoo, which is a very respectable search engine. However, the search isn't really very satifying if you are the searcher. I'm the number 1 result when you search for girls in red latex jumpsuits. I didn't even remember, but I said the words (no girls however) in my post here. Betcha whoever it was searching was very disappointed when they found me. Hah! Sorry, I really shouldn't laugh... To those of you in Atlantic City, I salute you. Please pardon my childish giggles.
I'm the number one search result on a major search engine, whoo-hoo! I feel very special. It's on Yahoo, which is a very respectable search engine. However, the search isn't really very satifying if you are the searcher. I'm the number 1 result when you search for girls in red latex jumpsuits. I didn't even remember, but I said the words (no girls however) in my post here. Betcha whoever it was searching was very disappointed when they found me. Hah! Sorry, I really shouldn't laugh... To those of you in Atlantic City, I salute you. Please pardon my childish giggles.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Another nightmare
Another nightmare. Again centering on Zee Dress. I'm finding this odd as it hasn't really been a priority item for me and I have hardly been thinking about it of late.
Anyways. Set-up: for some bizarre reason, we are getting married in a really big auditorium/gymnasium. We do a civil service down at one end and then walk up the slightly tilting floor to do a big pomp and circumstance Catholic service religious wedding. The floor is the hardwood that you find in a gym. There are bleachers and seats on one side for all the guests and on the other side is the outline of a big cathedral. But we are inside, along with the cathedral.
I'm in a back room, trying to get ready. For some reason, half of the members of my Bavarian band are also there, helping me to get ready. We are speaking a mix of German and English. One guy (who normally I don't get along very well at all with in the band) is steering me to some back room and I go along quietly. The back room happens to be a wedding dress shop. I look around to see where my dirndl is, but it's not there. I don't know if I forgot to buy it or if it got left at home or if it was deemed not appropriate or what. Everyone is saying to put on my dress. My dress is a big lacy wedding dress with a high collar and long sleeves. I find it horrifying, am stressed and don't want to wear it. In fact, I refuse to wear it, saying that if my new dirdl isn't here, then I'll just wear one of my old ones. I look at my faithful old green one (as seen in my profile pic) and for some reason reject it. I try on my shorter blue one, but find the skirt is way too short and that my panties can be seen from nearly every angle. (There goes the PG rating for my site)
So I'm starting to feel desperate here. Everyone keeps telling me to put on the lacy dress. I say okay, I will try it on, but I don't agree to wear it without checking it out first in the mirror. This comment puts everyone in a kerfluffle, saying, "No! You can't see yourself in the dress before the wedding!" I tell them I'm going to look whether they like it or not. I try it on and it actually doesn't look too bad. I then ask what G is wearing to the ceremony. As it's a dream, I suddenly see him standing out by the altar, chit-chatting with his parents while waiting for me. He's wearing his lederhosen.
Well, if he's wearing lederhosen, there's no way I'm going to wear this lacy white thing. I refuse, to great protests from my band. I decide the most decent thing I can wear is my band uniform. That is a long black skirt, white blouse, red vest and green jacket. Sounds horrid if you haven't seen it, but it's actually not that bad. In fact, if you want to see it (minus the jacket), check out the picture of all of us on the band website: Our Bavarian Band. The band members helping me get ready aren't too happy with this for some unknown reason, but they agree it will fit better with Greg, except they say it won't work because he's also wearing the band uniform and the two matching red vests will clash. So I someone contact Greg via telepathy or some similar power and get him to take his vest off. I put on the band uniform and wake up.
Very strange dream and I'm going to blame it on the Turkish döner I had last night (instead of my "regular" Greek gyros) and the Coopers (South Australian)beer.
Want to save money on your wedding?
Anyways. Set-up: for some bizarre reason, we are getting married in a really big auditorium/gymnasium. We do a civil service down at one end and then walk up the slightly tilting floor to do a big pomp and circumstance Catholic service religious wedding. The floor is the hardwood that you find in a gym. There are bleachers and seats on one side for all the guests and on the other side is the outline of a big cathedral. But we are inside, along with the cathedral.
I'm in a back room, trying to get ready. For some reason, half of the members of my Bavarian band are also there, helping me to get ready. We are speaking a mix of German and English. One guy (who normally I don't get along very well at all with in the band) is steering me to some back room and I go along quietly. The back room happens to be a wedding dress shop. I look around to see where my dirndl is, but it's not there. I don't know if I forgot to buy it or if it got left at home or if it was deemed not appropriate or what. Everyone is saying to put on my dress. My dress is a big lacy wedding dress with a high collar and long sleeves. I find it horrifying, am stressed and don't want to wear it. In fact, I refuse to wear it, saying that if my new dirdl isn't here, then I'll just wear one of my old ones. I look at my faithful old green one (as seen in my profile pic) and for some reason reject it. I try on my shorter blue one, but find the skirt is way too short and that my panties can be seen from nearly every angle. (There goes the PG rating for my site)
So I'm starting to feel desperate here. Everyone keeps telling me to put on the lacy dress. I say okay, I will try it on, but I don't agree to wear it without checking it out first in the mirror. This comment puts everyone in a kerfluffle, saying, "No! You can't see yourself in the dress before the wedding!" I tell them I'm going to look whether they like it or not. I try it on and it actually doesn't look too bad. I then ask what G is wearing to the ceremony. As it's a dream, I suddenly see him standing out by the altar, chit-chatting with his parents while waiting for me. He's wearing his lederhosen.
Well, if he's wearing lederhosen, there's no way I'm going to wear this lacy white thing. I refuse, to great protests from my band. I decide the most decent thing I can wear is my band uniform. That is a long black skirt, white blouse, red vest and green jacket. Sounds horrid if you haven't seen it, but it's actually not that bad. In fact, if you want to see it (minus the jacket), check out the picture of all of us on the band website: Our Bavarian Band. The band members helping me get ready aren't too happy with this for some unknown reason, but they agree it will fit better with Greg, except they say it won't work because he's also wearing the band uniform and the two matching red vests will clash. So I someone contact Greg via telepathy or some similar power and get him to take his vest off. I put on the band uniform and wake up.
Very strange dream and I'm going to blame it on the Turkish döner I had last night (instead of my "regular" Greek gyros) and the Coopers (South Australian)beer.
Want to save money on your wedding?
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Rings I like
I thought it was about time to have a more visual post. Here are some specific rings that I like or think look interesting.
This first one has a blue zircon there in the middle.
This has too many diamonds and is a bit out of my price range, but I think it's lovely and looks very delicate.
This is a lovely sapphire ring I'm thinking about possibly getting. I wish the background was white though, as it makes me feel uncertain about the colour.
Here's a ring without stones that I like. It is 3 different gold colours braided together.
There have been surprisingly few ruby rings that I've liked; but here's a nice one with a platinum band.
I am absolutely in love with this ring. It's by far my current favourite. It's an eternity ring with green tourmaline for the stones.
By the way, for those of you who know and understand, I've hot-linked all these pictures. I feel it's okay to do such, as all these rings are from retailers, so they should be happy for the free publicity. If you want to visit the retailer, right-click on the picture and get properties for the web link. Hot-linking, however, does mean the pictures could disappear on me. Please write me a comment if they do.
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This first one has a blue zircon there in the middle.
This has too many diamonds and is a bit out of my price range, but I think it's lovely and looks very delicate.
This is a lovely sapphire ring I'm thinking about possibly getting. I wish the background was white though, as it makes me feel uncertain about the colour.
Here's a ring without stones that I like. It is 3 different gold colours braided together.
There have been surprisingly few ruby rings that I've liked; but here's a nice one with a platinum band.
I am absolutely in love with this ring. It's by far my current favourite. It's an eternity ring with green tourmaline for the stones.
By the way, for those of you who know and understand, I've hot-linked all these pictures. I feel it's okay to do such, as all these rings are from retailers, so they should be happy for the free publicity. If you want to visit the retailer, right-click on the picture and get properties for the web link. Hot-linking, however, does mean the pictures could disappear on me. Please write me a comment if they do.
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
Ridiculous
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and Munich has finally burst into spring after a very long hiatus. None the less, I'm in a bad mood. This may explain why I thought that the email I got was so ridiculous.
I'm on a few mailing lists for bridal and wedding advice. Sometimes there's a bit of useful information, more often there's just filler to advertise their products. But the one I got today just caught me the wrong way. It was entitled "Matching my veil to my hairstyle?" I guess it irked me because it just seemed like such a superficial and unimportant thing to want to know about or to do. I'm willing to work out to look good for my wedding, but I'm not willing to panic over hair-veil conflicts.
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
I'm on a few mailing lists for bridal and wedding advice. Sometimes there's a bit of useful information, more often there's just filler to advertise their products. But the one I got today just caught me the wrong way. It was entitled "Matching my veil to my hairstyle?" I guess it irked me because it just seemed like such a superficial and unimportant thing to want to know about or to do. I'm willing to work out to look good for my wedding, but I'm not willing to panic over hair-veil conflicts.
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Working out
Is there anyone in the world who in the months leading up to their wedding says to his or more likely, herself, "I look really good, I don't need to do anything to look better for the wedding"? If there is, I want to meet them and check them out for myself. I don't know how their bodies look, but their egos must be healthy at least.
Weddings bring out your vanity. You have to look good for this day. That is a simple must, no ifs ands or buts about it. At least in your own head. Everyone attending will think you look beautiful probably no matter what, but in your mind you have to look absolutely fabulous. More fabulous than normal.
This means working out and/or dieting. To a level you would never think about if it wasn't for the fact that there's this really expensive dress that you are supposed to wear and so-help-me-god, I will fit into a smaller size. I can't be the only one out there who has delayed dress shopping until they have lost a few pounds. Can I?
So, for the first time in around 18 months, I went to a gym today. I used to belong to one here in Munich, but found myself not going and paying a lot of money for the privilege of owning an unused gym card. So I quit and was happy with that decision. However, I now realise I actually did enjoy going to the gym, but that it worked much better when I had motivation. My previous motivation was to be fit enough to referee the soccer (football) games I had committed to without keeling over from exhaustion and to qualify to ref the next level. Now my motivation is not to have flabby arms and a big butt coming Zee Big Day. Let's see if I keep motivated...
Weddings bring out your vanity. You have to look good for this day. That is a simple must, no ifs ands or buts about it. At least in your own head. Everyone attending will think you look beautiful probably no matter what, but in your mind you have to look absolutely fabulous. More fabulous than normal.
This means working out and/or dieting. To a level you would never think about if it wasn't for the fact that there's this really expensive dress that you are supposed to wear and so-help-me-god, I will fit into a smaller size. I can't be the only one out there who has delayed dress shopping until they have lost a few pounds. Can I?
So, for the first time in around 18 months, I went to a gym today. I used to belong to one here in Munich, but found myself not going and paying a lot of money for the privilege of owning an unused gym card. So I quit and was happy with that decision. However, I now realise I actually did enjoy going to the gym, but that it worked much better when I had motivation. My previous motivation was to be fit enough to referee the soccer (football) games I had committed to without keeling over from exhaustion and to qualify to ref the next level. Now my motivation is not to have flabby arms and a big butt coming Zee Big Day. Let's see if I keep motivated...
Friday, March 11, 2005
Zee Feed
This pages now feeds the hungry masses!
Thanks to the kind efforts of Murray C., my blog is now included in the feed list for Munich Blogs. If you want to read about others in Munich, that's the place to do that. Some interesting stuff in there.
Just below, you'll see a picture of the lastest bridal magazine I'm reviewing. Cleverly named "Brides". I'll have a review up on the weekend.
Thanks to the kind efforts of Murray C., my blog is now included in the feed list for Munich Blogs. If you want to read about others in Munich, that's the place to do that. Some interesting stuff in there.
Just below, you'll see a picture of the lastest bridal magazine I'm reviewing. Cleverly named "Brides". I'll have a review up on the weekend.
Brides UK edition
A rather poor picture of the front of the current Brides magazine. Unfortunately, it's the only one I could find.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Zee Royal Comparison
I thought, just for fun, I would compare our upcoming nuptials to that of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. We are labeled 1. and in regular print; Camilla and Charles are labeled 2. and in italics
Names
1. Zee Bride and Zee Groom;
2. Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles
Ages
1. 33 & 26;
2. 57 & 56
Aha, Camilla picked herself a toyboy too!
Length of time they have known each other
1. approx 29 months,
2. approx. 32 years
Wedding announced
1. Publicly, Jan. 1, 2005;
2. Publicly, February 10, 2005
They’ve wanted to for longer, but we still beat them.
Engagement ring
1. None yet;
2. The engagement ring is said to be an Art Deco era ring once owned by the Queen Mother. The platinum ring has a square-cut central diamond with three diamond baguettes on either side.
Okay, they beat us here. But I like the choice of Art Deco.
Wedding date
1. Jan. 20, 2006 (probably, don’t book your flights yet);
2. April 8, 2005
Wow! Get your skates on kids, hope everything is ready!
Wedding clothes
1. Traditional Bavarian;
2. Designed by London designers.
Horses for courses, as the Brits say.
Civil or church ceremony?
1. Civil;
2. Civil
We shall do things civilly.
Wedding location
1. Standesamt, Munich, Germany;
2. Town Hall, Windsor, United Kingdom
This is also the same as us.
Number of guests
1. less than 20;
2. for the actual ceremony it’s unclear- there are 2 rooms, one holds up to 30 people, the other up to 100
Pretty small as well.
Does the Mother of the Groom want to attend?
1. Yes, but may not since she lives on the other side of the world.
2. No, but there will be a blessing and reception held at her "house" just down the road.
Well, Liz claims it’s to help keep the wedding low-key. Others claim it's because there will be too many commoners around. You choose.
So, as we can see, some similarities, some differences. My theory about why they decided to do the wedding so quickly: They were worried about it being overshadowed by ours because of our growing fame from this blog.
Names
1. Zee Bride and Zee Groom;
2. Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles
Ages
1. 33 & 26;
2. 57 & 56
Aha, Camilla picked herself a toyboy too!
Length of time they have known each other
1. approx 29 months,
2. approx. 32 years
Wedding announced
1. Publicly, Jan. 1, 2005;
2. Publicly, February 10, 2005
They’ve wanted to for longer, but we still beat them.
Engagement ring
1. None yet;
2. The engagement ring is said to be an Art Deco era ring once owned by the Queen Mother. The platinum ring has a square-cut central diamond with three diamond baguettes on either side.
Okay, they beat us here. But I like the choice of Art Deco.
Wedding date
1. Jan. 20, 2006 (probably, don’t book your flights yet);
2. April 8, 2005
Wow! Get your skates on kids, hope everything is ready!
Wedding clothes
1. Traditional Bavarian;
2. Designed by London designers.
Horses for courses, as the Brits say.
Civil or church ceremony?
1. Civil;
2. Civil
We shall do things civilly.
Wedding location
1. Standesamt, Munich, Germany;
2. Town Hall, Windsor, United Kingdom
This is also the same as us.
Number of guests
1. less than 20;
2. for the actual ceremony it’s unclear- there are 2 rooms, one holds up to 30 people, the other up to 100
Pretty small as well.
Does the Mother of the Groom want to attend?
1. Yes, but may not since she lives on the other side of the world.
2. No, but there will be a blessing and reception held at her "house" just down the road.
Well, Liz claims it’s to help keep the wedding low-key. Others claim it's because there will be too many commoners around. You choose.
So, as we can see, some similarities, some differences. My theory about why they decided to do the wedding so quickly: They were worried about it being overshadowed by ours because of our growing fame from this blog.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Wonderful online jeweler
I found a great online link: http://www.hkjewellery.co.uk/. Fantastic stuff, and as we plan on being in the UK over Easter, we're going to take a trip to check them out.
For the first time in a long time, I wore a ring today. Normally I don't wear rings at all, but I was wearing all black and have a cheap little black, white and grey ring that is kind of cool so I just decided to slip it on. I couldn't stop fiddling with it all day. I'll be so bad when I get a ring that I'm supposed to wear all the time. At least for the first week I would imagine. I'll just have to make sure I don't stand near any open drains or elevator shafts that week...
For the first time in a long time, I wore a ring today. Normally I don't wear rings at all, but I was wearing all black and have a cheap little black, white and grey ring that is kind of cool so I just decided to slip it on. I couldn't stop fiddling with it all day. I'll be so bad when I get a ring that I'm supposed to wear all the time. At least for the first week I would imagine. I'll just have to make sure I don't stand near any open drains or elevator shafts that week...
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Zee Advertising
Eagle-eyed readers may have noted that I have a few ads scattered about the blog. They are there in the vain hopes that I might earn some money for the wedding via them. So far, with the Google Ads, I've earnt... wait for it... $1.15 US. Whooh! On the way to paying for the whole she-bang!
But seriously, why not if they will possibly pay me a little something and the people who come regularly to the blog can find them useful? Most things should relate to weddings and such, so it's not like they are totally off-base.
If you find them terribly crass and annoying, tell me and I'll consider removing them. I'd rather have regular blog readers than a couple of bucks from Google.
Yes, this too is an ad. :-)
But seriously, why not if they will possibly pay me a little something and the people who come regularly to the blog can find them useful? Most things should relate to weddings and such, so it's not like they are totally off-base.
If you find them terribly crass and annoying, tell me and I'll consider removing them. I'd rather have regular blog readers than a couple of bucks from Google.
Yes, this too is an ad. :-)
Correction
The shop I mentioned in the previous post is not the same shop we got bad service in. It is a totally different shop, but located just around the corner, that's why I confused it with the other. Still, when the catalogue doesn't have prices, it doesn't encourage me to go into the shop.
More ring stuff
One of these days I will have a picture of an actual ring that belongs to me to show you. In the meantime, I will be forced to simply to talk about rings in general.
A catalogue arrived in the mail today. It was from a dealer here in Munich that I found online. I won't bother to give their name or link, as I wasn't very impressed. I sent them an email asking them to send their catalogue to me, since there weren't any prices listed on their website. Well, their weren't any prices listed in the catalogue either. What's the point in that then? The designs were quite boring and hardly worth printing on the paper. Well, that is perhaps slightly unfair, there may have been one or two interesting ideas, but out of an entire catalogue, not very worthwhile.
In fact, after looking at the address of their shop, I now believe it is the second shop we went into the first time we went ring shopping here in Munich. So, with no prices and lousy service, they neither get my business or even a named mention on my website. So there.
I would like to thank She Dances in Dragon again however, for her (I'm assuming this after a short look at her blog) very helpful advice. I haven't had a chance to look at her links in full, but certainly will do so tomorrow. Until then, sleep well kids.
A catalogue arrived in the mail today. It was from a dealer here in Munich that I found online. I won't bother to give their name or link, as I wasn't very impressed. I sent them an email asking them to send their catalogue to me, since there weren't any prices listed on their website. Well, their weren't any prices listed in the catalogue either. What's the point in that then? The designs were quite boring and hardly worth printing on the paper. Well, that is perhaps slightly unfair, there may have been one or two interesting ideas, but out of an entire catalogue, not very worthwhile.
In fact, after looking at the address of their shop, I now believe it is the second shop we went into the first time we went ring shopping here in Munich. So, with no prices and lousy service, they neither get my business or even a named mention on my website. So there.
I would like to thank She Dances in Dragon again however, for her (I'm assuming this after a short look at her blog) very helpful advice. I haven't had a chance to look at her links in full, but certainly will do so tomorrow. Until then, sleep well kids.
Monday, March 07, 2005
What is Zircon?
A commenter, She Dances in Dragon, made some very good suggestions on my ring browsing post. Thanks very much for that. I look forward to the next post with links! In the meantime, here is a link so that you can inform yourself about zircon vs. cubic zirconia. Zircon: Brilliant but Misunderstood. I didn't know about it before She Dances in Dragon made the suggestion, so thanks again!
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
Ring browsing online
I've been looking at estate and art deco jewelry, as it's more unique and they seem to be more likely to have other gemstones than just dimonds.
Here are some good links:
http://www.topazery.com/browse-rings-by-type.htm
http://www.antiquejewelrymall.com/filigreerings.html
http://www.antiquereflections.com/victorian2.asp?view=rings&title=Victorian,%20Art%20Nouveau%20and%20Georgian%20Rings
I don't know any of these vendors, but they certainly are good places to get some ideas from.
Any other links and I'd be happy to see them.
Here are some good links:
http://www.topazery.com/browse-rings-by-type.htm
http://www.antiquejewelrymall.com/filigreerings.html
http://www.antiquereflections.com/victorian2.asp?view=rings&title=Victorian,%20Art%20Nouveau%20and%20Georgian%20Rings
I don't know any of these vendors, but they certainly are good places to get some ideas from.
Any other links and I'd be happy to see them.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
I don't know if I'm being overly sensitive or if I'm just totally wrong about this, but could it be that nearly all the people who I know who are divorced are less enthusiastic when I tell them I am getting married? Not thinking of anyone in specific, just generally. Am I just projecting here, or are they really thinking, "Don't do it you foolish girl!" in the back of their mind? Just thinking out loud here, not really worried about it.
Zee Nightmare
I had a bad dream last night about the wedding. I'm sure it's pretty common for people to have them about their weddings when they are planning. You have a lot to think about, so the thoughts keep swirling around your head after you go to sleep and the stress of the occasion puts a negative spin on it. As it is, mine was pretty mild, and upon waking, more funny than scary, so I'll share it with you here.
Faithful readers will know, I don't want a big white poufy dress. What I do want and plan to wear can be found here. Anyways, in this nightmare, I was wearing a white sheath dress down to around my calves with a thin gauzy layer on top of it that hung tightly to the dress.
Well, for whatever reason, I was in a panic and had to run to get to the ceremony. But as I started to run, the gauzy layer started to catch air and fill up. It wouldn't go down! My dress was being inflated, I looked like I was wearing a big puffy white tube. I kept pressing down on the sides to push the air out, but it wouldn't come out. Of course, I was still trying to run at the same time as doing all of this, so I was quite constricted. I woke myself up because I was starting to hyperventilate! Hah! Well, I thought it was funny as soon as I woke up, but at the time of the dream, it was not fun.
Just a little moment to share with you that hopefully you'll also find funny. Anyone else have any nightmares?
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Faithful readers will know, I don't want a big white poufy dress. What I do want and plan to wear can be found here. Anyways, in this nightmare, I was wearing a white sheath dress down to around my calves with a thin gauzy layer on top of it that hung tightly to the dress.
Well, for whatever reason, I was in a panic and had to run to get to the ceremony. But as I started to run, the gauzy layer started to catch air and fill up. It wouldn't go down! My dress was being inflated, I looked like I was wearing a big puffy white tube. I kept pressing down on the sides to push the air out, but it wouldn't come out. Of course, I was still trying to run at the same time as doing all of this, so I was quite constricted. I woke myself up because I was starting to hyperventilate! Hah! Well, I thought it was funny as soon as I woke up, but at the time of the dream, it was not fun.
Just a little moment to share with you that hopefully you'll also find funny. Anyone else have any nightmares?
"Do It Yourself" Wedding Tips - Save!
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Zee Paperwork
So, I went down to the local "Hochzeitbüro" aka, the Wedding Office. It's in a building just behind the central building in Munich that is used for getting your resident's permit, registering where you live, changing your name, applying for work visas, registering any extra toes, etc etc. Okay, not the extra toes, but if you have paperwork to be done in Munich, this is likely the place you have to go to get it done.
The Wedding Office building is slightly nicer than the building I'm normally in. The front building has a bit of a smoky, grimy atmosphere to it. The back building is nicer and there's a reason for this. They hold the actual wedding ceremonies here. But it's not that nice, it's still very much an office building. I saw a few people mingling around the front who were obviously part of a wedding, right clothes, several bouquets of red roses. They were standing near a kiosk where you can buy softdrinks and chocolate bars. Now, I'm no old-fashioned romantic, but that didn't really strike me as how I wanted my guests to entertain themselves before or after the ceremony. But I digress.
The reason I went down there was to see what was necessary for an Australian and a Canadian to wed in Germany. I'll give you one guess as to whether it's lots of paperwork or just a little..... thinking hard?.... Good guess! I have smart readers; it's not just a little. Here's a list of what we need:
- A birth certificate, not older than 6 months and translated into German by an official translator.
- A current passport (okay, this is not a difficulty, I admit)
- Proof of residency in Munich
- Proof of job status, including the original certificates for any degrees held.
- A piece of paper (paper A) that says we don't need another piece of paper (paper B). Paper B would be a signed statement or certificate, I don't know which, saying that we were free to marry.
- G need to provide proof of his single status, a certificate being issued less than 6 months ago. Don't ask me for details on what this is, I forget right now.
- G possibly needs a "Ehebedenklichkeitsbescheinigung". Yes, that is one word. No, I don't know what it means, other than it talks about marriage (ehe) and a certificate (bescheinigung). It's in brackets, so it's possible he doesn't need that.
- Happy news, we don't need an intrepreter for the ceremony. See, learning German has finally paid off.
- G needs an Apostille to sign for all the documents from Australia, and I need "legalisation" for my documents from Canada. Apparently it's not enough that you have the official documents and certificates, someone even more official has to stamp and say they are official.
- I need to fill out an affidavit saying I'm not related to G by blood or by marriage.
So, after we get all that done, we can register to marry. Phew!
Of course, for nearly all these papers, there's going to be some sort of charge. And don't forget the translations either. I'm starting to wonder if a quick trip to Las Vegas wouldn't be cheaper. Well, maybe not really, but a little. I think I might check out how difficult it is in Austria, since it's just a hop away. If it's significantly easier, it might be worth a shot.
The Wedding Office building is slightly nicer than the building I'm normally in. The front building has a bit of a smoky, grimy atmosphere to it. The back building is nicer and there's a reason for this. They hold the actual wedding ceremonies here. But it's not that nice, it's still very much an office building. I saw a few people mingling around the front who were obviously part of a wedding, right clothes, several bouquets of red roses. They were standing near a kiosk where you can buy softdrinks and chocolate bars. Now, I'm no old-fashioned romantic, but that didn't really strike me as how I wanted my guests to entertain themselves before or after the ceremony. But I digress.
The reason I went down there was to see what was necessary for an Australian and a Canadian to wed in Germany. I'll give you one guess as to whether it's lots of paperwork or just a little..... thinking hard?.... Good guess! I have smart readers; it's not just a little. Here's a list of what we need:
- A birth certificate, not older than 6 months and translated into German by an official translator.
- A current passport (okay, this is not a difficulty, I admit)
- Proof of residency in Munich
- Proof of job status, including the original certificates for any degrees held.
- A piece of paper (paper A) that says we don't need another piece of paper (paper B). Paper B would be a signed statement or certificate, I don't know which, saying that we were free to marry.
- G need to provide proof of his single status, a certificate being issued less than 6 months ago. Don't ask me for details on what this is, I forget right now.
- G possibly needs a "Ehebedenklichkeitsbescheinigung". Yes, that is one word. No, I don't know what it means, other than it talks about marriage (ehe) and a certificate (bescheinigung). It's in brackets, so it's possible he doesn't need that.
- Happy news, we don't need an intrepreter for the ceremony. See, learning German has finally paid off.
- G needs an Apostille to sign for all the documents from Australia, and I need "legalisation" for my documents from Canada. Apparently it's not enough that you have the official documents and certificates, someone even more official has to stamp and say they are official.
- I need to fill out an affidavit saying I'm not related to G by blood or by marriage.
So, after we get all that done, we can register to marry. Phew!
Of course, for nearly all these papers, there's going to be some sort of charge. And don't forget the translations either. I'm starting to wonder if a quick trip to Las Vegas wouldn't be cheaper. Well, maybe not really, but a little. I think I might check out how difficult it is in Austria, since it's just a hop away. If it's significantly easier, it might be worth a shot.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Magazine Review: Hochzeitsplaner
Finally the promised review of the first German magazine I bought. Here's the cover:
The first impression is pretty good. I like the fact that the table of contents is right at the very start of the magazine. It's in German, which is fine because I do read German, but I have treated it more as a picture gallery than read the articles. Most of the "articles" are just advertising different wedding services like dresses, make-up or jewelry. One interesting thing is that it's the first magazine that I've come across that had specific articles and clothing examples targeted for the groom. At least 6 separate articles which actually equals only around 10 pages or so, but that's 5% of the magazine and I haven't seen anything in other magazines. Of course, some of the outfits are truly atrocious and I can't imagine any man wearing them anywhere, never mind to his wedding. I mean, would you marry someone wearing this?
No, I thought not.
But not everything is so strange looking, there are lots of nice dresses, some flower ideas, some hairstyling ideas, some ideas for sayings and prayers for the ceremony. Plus an actual wedding planner, with a checklist of things to do at a certain number of months.
And, as a nice comparison, many of the ads do show the price of the dress advertised or at least the model number! This was my main complaint with In Style magazine. Glad to see the Germans are more pratical in this regard.
The thing I probably appreciate the most is that it is Germany-based, so the suppliers they list are far more likely to be useful to me/us than any of the the North American or British magazines.
The thing I liked the least was the fact that although the issue is billed as their winter/spring issue for 2005, all the bridal fairs they list fell within January or the early part of February. Doesn't do you much good if you go to buy the magazine now, does it? And you can't tell me they didn't know these things before they went to press. However, I will accept it if someone tells me that there aren't any bridal fairs in Germany in spring 2005. Until that happens though, I'll be a bit miffed.
The first impression is pretty good. I like the fact that the table of contents is right at the very start of the magazine. It's in German, which is fine because I do read German, but I have treated it more as a picture gallery than read the articles. Most of the "articles" are just advertising different wedding services like dresses, make-up or jewelry. One interesting thing is that it's the first magazine that I've come across that had specific articles and clothing examples targeted for the groom. At least 6 separate articles which actually equals only around 10 pages or so, but that's 5% of the magazine and I haven't seen anything in other magazines. Of course, some of the outfits are truly atrocious and I can't imagine any man wearing them anywhere, never mind to his wedding. I mean, would you marry someone wearing this?
No, I thought not.But not everything is so strange looking, there are lots of nice dresses, some flower ideas, some hairstyling ideas, some ideas for sayings and prayers for the ceremony. Plus an actual wedding planner, with a checklist of things to do at a certain number of months.
And, as a nice comparison, many of the ads do show the price of the dress advertised or at least the model number! This was my main complaint with In Style magazine. Glad to see the Germans are more pratical in this regard.
The thing I probably appreciate the most is that it is Germany-based, so the suppliers they list are far more likely to be useful to me/us than any of the the North American or British magazines.
The thing I liked the least was the fact that although the issue is billed as their winter/spring issue for 2005, all the bridal fairs they list fell within January or the early part of February. Doesn't do you much good if you go to buy the magazine now, does it? And you can't tell me they didn't know these things before they went to press. However, I will accept it if someone tells me that there aren't any bridal fairs in Germany in spring 2005. Until that happens though, I'll be a bit miffed.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Link it baby!
G has put a link to this page from our other website. Don't think there will be too many links from that to us, but in case you are interested enough to check it out, click here. Lots of nice pictures from previous holidays up there.
Plus, still not really knowing what we want for rings, send us your ideas! Either comment with a link or email me with your piccies.
Plus, still not really knowing what we want for rings, send us your ideas! Either comment with a link or email me with your piccies.
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