cheers to the joys of wedding paperwork in peru

Totally unbelievable.  If I had known it would be this hard...  It is worth it but damn.  I mean on top of the amazing amount of paperwork I had to do in the US, plus all the false info given to me about what I needed, we had to retranslate the paperwork here, then get it notarized by a specific person who is only in the office at a certain time on a certain day, then get it notarized by the school of notaries, then take it to the ministerio de exteriores for their stamp. Everything costs money of course and everyone wants to know why you are doing this, they want to delay, get a bribe, etc. Then we had to present the documents to the ONE minister in all of Cusco and BEG him to marry us on Sunday. He will not tell me what words we will be saying, nor if I am allowed to say my vows. I have no idea what this will be like. Then we had to go to another location to pay the fee, come back for a folder with extra papers in it, get those signed by two witnesses who need to be present at the wedding, then go to the medical clinic to get...oh yes...blood tests, dental check, and a physical done.  Unreal. Totally unreal. And this medical clinic...no gloves. She took my blood with a dirty tourniquet and no gloves. The dentist looked in my mouth with no gloves and a dirty pen that he had stuck in other peoples mouths. Rather shocking really.  Now I have to post our names in the local paper and hope that the guy does indeed show up on our wedding day.  Sounds fun right?

bridal shower joy

Yay for Inca Kola! This is how the party started up in LA this weekend, with lots more fun and Peruvian elements to follow. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother who arranged the whole party, complete with games and Peruvian food (with help from a few key players)! It was such a fantastic fiesta and so great to see such good friends, many of whom I haven't seen in years! Click on LA shower album to see some pictures from the event. I'm very spoiled because I also had a really amazing shower down in San Diego too with all my close girlfriends that was organized, planned, and thrown by my incredible maid of honor Jaime! Click on SD shower album to see some pictures. Thanks everyone!

wedding planning

Ah, planning a wedding in Peru...so much more difficult than originally anticipated.  They really do things so very differently down there and there is no such thing as have it your way in Peru.  The location at least is breathtaking and the event itself should be really fun, in spite of any planning mishaps.  Less than four months away!