It’s now officially official: James has asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted his proposal. And I now have a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring as well!

I spent last week in the UK – my third trip there but first since I met James. I met many, many of his friends and finally met his parents and sister and brother as well, all of whom were wonderfully welcoming and whom I am excited to have as my own family very soon.

I had a terrific time getting to know the family and spending time with quite a few of James’ dear friends (he sure knows how to pick ’em!). We had a busy week with trips to Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Oxford and London and stops in Portsmouth, Tunbridge Wells and Tudeley.

Highlights of the week – in no particular order – included a stunning Radiohead show at Earl’s Court in London, choral evensong for Advent at Magdalen College chapel in Oxford, lunch at the Vauxhall Inn in Tonbridge with James’ parents, curry in Brick Lane (London), dinner at Graeme’s, the gathering at the Global Cafe where I finally met in person loads of folks that I had only previously met online, lunch with Matthew (James’ brother) in Portsmouth, discovering Brighton, Blackwell’s bookshop in Oxford, Salisbury Cathedral, and dinner at Loch Fyne in Reading followed by James’ proposal.

Pictures of the trip (including a few of the ring) can be viewed here:
photos.jamesandkari.co.uk

So James suggested that I might want to add an entry early in this blog for those who stumble across it and don’t know who we are. Here goes…

I’m Kari. I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. James lives in Reading, England. We’re planning to get married on October 22, 2004 (or if you prefer, 22nd October, 2004).

We met the weekend of March 28-29, 2003 at the Festival of Faith and Music at Calvin College. I work in Admissions at Calvin but also do some work on the side with the Student Activities Office (just because I love it) and had been involved in the planning of the Festival. James has friends in Nashville, and one of his friends there David Dark, who was speaking at the Festival, invited him to come along. Since then we have spent two weeks together (first week of June and third week of September) and kept in touch by email, instant messaging, and daily phone calls. Maintaining a transatlantic relationship is not easy but we’ve decide it’s worth it! We realized pretty early on in our relationship that we were meant to be together for the rest of our lives and decided after James’ September visit that the rest of our lives was going to start “officially” in October 2004.

Because James is a British citizen, there is all kinds of legal stuff that needs to be done in order for us to marry and for him to become a permanent resident (aka get a green card). Some of the websites that we have found helpful in this process:

K1 Visa FAQ

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

I will (hopefully) be recording much more about this process and about wedding plans on this site as we move along. If you’re curious, keep an eye on this space. Cash contributions may be sent directly to me. Thanks for your time!

My parents came up this weekend, so early Saturday afternoon we met up at Post Family Farm to check out their grounds and facilities and to see if their 1915 barn might work for our wedding reception. We had to use our imagination a bit as there will still be a few more leaves on the trees and brighter colors in mid-October (as opposed to 8th Nov.), but it’s a beautiful property and the barn is absolutely charming!

The downstairs of the barn is divided up into a few different rooms, and they are in the process of putting in brand new restroom facilities. The upstairs is a big open room where the main reception would take place. The ceiling is fairly low but there are windows all the way around and it feels quite roomy. There are hand-hewn beams and a slopey floor. It all just feels quite ancient and cozy and different!

Annette (who I know from church) is very willing to work with us given that James won’t be able to see it until the beginning of January. We can send in the reservation form and hold off on putting down a deposit until James gets a chance to see it.

This is currently under construction: Post Family Farm but may be up and running someday.

UPDATE: The Post Family Farm website is now indeed up. And it’s lovely! Check it out.

Just making sure this is working.

I’m planning to use this space to keep records of wedding plans, fiance visa application process etc.

Today I dropped off the form, paid the deposit, and reserved COS for our wedding on 22nd October, 2004.

It’s all happening!