Baltimore trip and the Wedding Planning

Practicing the dance with dad in the shoe Dept.

The main reason I came back to the USA at this time was to attend the National Catholic Symposium on Adolescent Catechesis held this past weekend. It was a great time to get back into the action of young people and their faith and a great time connecting with old friends and making new ones.

It is also Fall here and the weather has been incredible. I couldn't resist taking photos of the wonderful Fall colors.

I came a week early and my parents met me here. We had a short but fantastic 2 days together. We went wedding dress shopping together and it couldn't have been more fun. I throughly enjoyed every part of it. I never thought it would be such an entertaining experience and it was that much more special to share it with my parents.

The idea was to try on the dresses to get an idea of what I liked and what looked good on me. Then I was going to have it made for me in Peru. Well, I found two fantastic dresses and one happened to be nearer my price range and I bought it! It wasn't planned but I'm glad that I did it. One less thing to worry about and the dress I bought made my mom cry. I mean really how can you walk away from that. So I now have a dress on the way. They didn't have it in the color I want, but I do get to go and pick up my veil and shoes this week to take back with me. I also purchased Richard's wedding band here for a great price. That's not all. I'm on a roll. I also ordered the invitations for Peru and for the USA so I am on my way. Bit by bit and I think I just may get it all together and be ahead of the game.

However, not all has been paradise. I had planned that I would also take care of the paperwork involved in getting married in Peru. I researched it ahead of time and thought I had it all worked out until....I didn't. It went from an easy plan to phone call after phone call and none of the information was clear and involved many more steps and $$$. So after the speedy and generous help of my parents I now have at least my birth certificate legalized and ready to take back and I am now anxiously waiting for another document that I need. Then when I have both of these there are several steps to get them translated and legalized in Peru.

That isn't the end of it. The process for getting a resident visa is also expensive and confusing. I am going to need an extra dose of patience to get through the next couple of years. But yes, it is worth it!

So here are a few photos of dress. I won't give away the surprise just yet on which one I chose. Don't want give it all away and take away the fun.