16 Months To Go

So after, 6 months travelling together and at the time of the proposal nearly 2 years of togetherness, we are engaged! I'm going to be Mrs Beard and The Beard and I are delighted and wedding planning for October 2018.

So, after nearly 2 months of engagement and with 16 months to go, here's what I have learnt so far: 

I like a Grecian style sheath, apparently, but as I haven't tried anything on yet, we'll see. Curiously enough, now I have genuine reason to gawp in the window of Rosa Clara et al I daren't go in, I feel like I'm not allowed. It would seem all brides are white, blonde and skinny, at least according to the majority of magazines and gown producers. How am I supposed to bolster my newly engaged giddiness when I don't see any models that look anything like me or how I would want to look? Thank the universe for family, friends and social media, Crème de la Bride, Nu Bride, et al, diversity and representation are what makes the world go around and this bride's smile a little wider.

I'm considered a "mature" bride. SAYWHAT???!!!!

Having been born in England I should have 2 birth certificates (short and long), The Beard is Scottish he only has a long one. 

Move over Louboutin, it's all about Manolo Blahnik now. As far as dress or shoes first goes, it's all a bit chicken and egg, isn't it? As for any fool that says to me "find your venue first, then your gown" obviously doesn't know me very well. If I find my outfit first, I'll match the venue to it, hence, the chicken crossed the road! 

The paperwork and processes aren't as complicated as originally thought, we made an appointment at the civil registry in Palma because no one seemed to know exactly what we needed and we were told repeatedly that we would have to get married at the registry office (before or after) and our wedding would be a celebration and we didn't want that.

Tip 1 - MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!  

https://www.citapreviaregistrocivil.es/?lang=es_es&idtramite=1288774960859&idpagina=1215197884559

You won't regret it, It’s chaos in there. We spoke to a lovely lady who told us that as we are both British (and therefore both from an EU country, for now….) are both resident here in Spain and have never been married; all we need is our birth certificates reissued within the last 6 months, legalised then translated and stamped by a notary, copies of NIE and passport, historical* empadronamiento issued in the last 6 months, plus the forms that she gave us. 

*In our case, it shows everywhere we have lived in Palma.

You can order new copies of your UK long birth certificate online for a fee and once you have it, again, you apply online to have them legalised, pay, send them off and they'll send them back to you with the apostille seal/stamp. 

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/      

http://www.scottishcertificates.org.uk/birth.html

https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

Then fill in the first page of the form given to you at the registry office. On our form at the bottom it asks who we would like to marry us, registrar, council (ayuntamiento) or notary. We want to have an official wedding so we were informed we should tick “ayuntamiento”. Thus, for example, imagine we choose to get married in a finca in Sóller, once we have our venue, we should go to the mayor’s office in Sóller, tell them when and where and they will send someone to officiate. Huzzah! 

Once you have all of this together, make another appointment, go along with all the above and they will open a file for you. 

Next, approximately 10 months or so before your big day, make another appointment. Fill in the next forms, one each. This is your certificate of no impediment. Find two witnesses, take them and your forms to the appointment, sign to prove you are free to marry and are not being coerced or some such. 

The lady did say there were 3 steps but I’m assuming the third is the actual wedding! 

Next brush up on your Castellano as our form also asks which language we would like our boda in, Castellano or Catalá. Not sure if The Beard has quite grasped that part yet……

Abandonment Issues

Dear family, friends, blogosphere, I'm sorry I have been neglecting you. 

Here's where, how and why:

2016 continued 

Bangkok Songkran water fight!

 After Koh Kood we spent a week in Bangkok getting soaked at Songkran, getting our Vietnamese visas and discovering we had overstayed by two days - fine duly paid.

 The Beard and I spent a month in Vietnam, we bought a bike and travelled from South to North from beach to mountains and back again. The differing landscapes, cuisines and people was quite incredible. The highlight for me was the homestay on the Mekong Delta, away from the tourists/travellers and the city, we spent a night with a family who farm watermelons on the delta. The eldest son gave us a tour of the farm, Mom cooked us a proper Mom dinner and  Dad shared a beer with us whilst teaching us Vietnamese over a card game - càm ón ban.

From there we went to the Philippines - don't ask. I stopped writing about the trip because I was too busy at times enjoying it and at others learning more about myself and my partner sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.

Worker's transport, Philippines

Beach for 2? Perhentian Islands

Relieved, wary yet hopeful, The Beard and I left the Philippines and headed to Malaysia. Happy days! Despite heavy downpours in Penang we lived it up in Langkawi and the Perhentian Islands. All too soon, it was time to leave again as now we were on a schedule to arrive in Phuket in time for the regattas. 

So we flip flopped to Krabi a great base to mooch about in and from. We made the mistake of going to Koh Phi Phi Don for a weekend - think Magaluf on speed and despite my best efforts the beachfront tsunami memorial was nowhere to be found. 

Then oh oh! Remember we had overstayed once already and what with our sailing schedule, it was time for a visa run. Thus, we headed north to Chang Mai - beautiful temples, great coffee and shopping. After enjoying the city for a night or two we took as The Beard likes to refer to it, "the slow boat to China" a two day, 18 hour boat ride along the mighty Mekong into Laos.

Luang Prabang is a bit like Stratford Upon Avon as in it has been 'preserved or restored' to be exactly as it was or some would say as it is expected to be seen. Anyhow, I loved it although I found the night market not to my taste, especially as in the same street you can find many little boutiques selling interesting clothes and jewellery. Alas, we didn't make it to the late night bowling (drinking) alley.

Vientiane is a working city with views across the water straight into Thailand, if you have a Thai sim, stand near the water and you can connect to your network. 

Then it was back to Thailand to Phuket to be exact. On my previous trip to Thailand I vowed never to set foot on the island as it was just to commercialised. Well Patong and Kata may be but there are plenty of other places to discover including Phuket town. 

Graffiti, Phuket Town

Phuket Town

We stayed in Ao Long, our friend's parents live there and we were invited to take part in their local yacht club's regatta. Much fun was had with Bob and the rest of the Allegro team. 

Cape Panwa raceweek was next, The Beard sailed with team Hurricane, whilst I enjoyed our near deserted resort and the gala parties. Many thanks to June and Alan for their hospitality.

We left Phuket for what we thought would be the highlight of our trip, Myanmar. Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake, Yangon. We had planned to stay longer but the traveller fatigue had set in, we were done attempting to barter, checking for pristine dollar notes in the exact denomination and having paid to get somewhere only to have to pay again for entry - we don't mind, just tell us beforehand. 

Bagan, Myanmar

Inle Lake, Myanmar

With a few weeks left, we decided to take a holiday within our "holiday". Where to go?! 

Where we started, Ko Chang. The island welcomed us back with open arms and hearts. Thanks to Mo, we found a lovely apartment in Kai Bae and for the first time in over 5 months, we unpacked. 

2 weeks and several hangovers later, we started the journey home. Thanks Emirates for letting us drink the bar dry BKK - DXB, and also the Travelodge at terminal 3 for having a surprisingly good bar/restaurant allowing us to continue our home coming party. Alas, when we came round for our DXB - BCN flight the next day, we discovered that I had left all chargers and headphones onboard the previous aircraft. Hey ho, we'd managed 6 months without losing anything! 

Then just like that, we were home in time for a paella lunch.

At the end of our street