Our Civil Wedding: April 7th, 2009

Differently from the US, in Venezuela priests do not have legal authority, so we usually have 2 weddings: the civil wedding and the church one. For us the church wedding is sort of the real one, as in Venezuela the civil wedding is signing the paper but still not moving together ;o)

Then with no planning at all, time got for us to get legally married, and we did on April 7th, 2009, which became one of the most memorable days in my life: I married the love of my life and I confirmed that I have very good friends in Cincinnati, who came to share our happiness even when we got married on a Tuesday @ 2.30 pm.

It was a very interesting day. I worked from home during the morning so I could get some make-up and dry my hair to be pretty for the pictures. Around 2 pm we run to the get our "Marriage license" and from there to the court to get it sign by the judge.

We got to the license office where pictures where not allowed and where we realized we did not have a camera.. stress... my civil wedding day and my pictures were being taken with Jon's mobile phone :o(... but well, better mobile phone pictures than none. So, in a 30F day (no chance to wear a sexy dress without my winter coat) we went running from one building to another (we were sort of late), and I had the best ever surprise when I entered the walkway and I saw Jack with an amazing camera making pictures like a professional photographers: "I will have real pictures from my civil wedding" :o)

And after the ceremony we went celebrating to Palomino's, the place where I remember seeing Jon for the first time on May 23, 2004 and telling to my friend Carla: "Ese chinito esta chevere y es super cuchi" (see picture below) and here we are celebrating our wedding almost 5 years later.

The second celebration in Cincinnati previous to the big Venezuela event ;o)

As many of our dear friends could not make it for the Venezuela celebration, we decided to have a "Cincinnati celebration" @ Andy's Mediterranean Grill.

Our very good friend Andy let us used his launch room to have a lot of fun. We started with an early dinner for those friends with kids that could not stay late and the party went until 4.00 am. Until midnight at Andy's and after that in our house with dancing and non stop champagne ;o)

The Honeymoon & the wedding registry

We have finally decided on our honeymoon: we will visit South Korea and Indonesia. It will be a 2 weeks exciting honeymoon as it will be my second time in Asia.

We are planning on visiting:
Seoul – Jakarta – Denpasar - Bali

The final details on the honeymoon still has to be planned; and as mentioned before we are not having a traditional registry, so if you want to give us a gift besides your presence, which is the absolute best gift, you can go to our “honeyfund web site”

http://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/michelleandjon05232009

The proposal

I have to admit that as a good Venezuelan I was pushing a bit to get this day happened some time ago... and I got so desperate that I though it will never happen... so, when it actually happened it was completely surprise!!!.

Since the beginning of February 2008, I was suggesting quite directly that "the ring" was taking long to come, and honestly I was not really asking for a physical ring as it is not a Venezuelan tradition, but for my "Romantic dream" of my guy asking me to be his wife. So, it was by the end of July when we were talking and we decided that it was time to "fix a date" to get married, so we did and although no Romantic scene was involved I was extremely happy to be able to tell to everyone "I'm getting married". By then, I accepted that "the guy on his knee scene" was not going to happen and I took it out of my mind.

Then, on August 10th, when I was coming back from business trip I was happily surprised:

Jon was picking me from the airport and we had planned to go eating at Buca Di Beppo with a coupon that was expiring that day. In the middle of the way to the restaurant Jon said: "Ups, I brought with me the wrong coupon, so let's pass home to take the right one". I was so starving that I refused to it and suggested to go without coupon, but Jon insisted we had to use it. So, I accepted to go but without getting out of the car, because if the doggie saw me it was gonna take a while before we could leave the house again, but again Jon refused to that and he said: "I'm not playing tricks with Linus, if we go home you have to say "hi" to him.

We got home and Jon gave me the door keys while he took the suitcases from the trunk. I opened the door and surprisingly Linus was waiting right there. Was that weird? Yes, it was because when we go out Linus stays in his crate, but I did not suspect anything at all. The doggie was wearing a bow but I though: "oh, he went to the hairdresser" (they do that when dogs get a haircut). About 5 minutes passed before Jon said: "come on, look around".... Oh My Gosh!!!
The entrance to the house was covered with pictures of my guy on his knees asking if we could get married, and yes, the bow was the ring hanging from Linus neck... It was really, really cute and unexpected!

Our life togeteher in Caracas

As an evidence that "if you want, you can", Jon got 1 year "Extended Business Trip" in Caracas.

It was very exciting to get to have a more traditional "girlfriend-boyfriend" relationship, where we got to know each other a lot better by living at the same city, seeing each other every day, going to the cinema, watching TV together, etc...

It was a very nice year because we got to confirm that definitely we wanted to create a live together; and we also got to travel all around Venezuela.

During that time we visited:

Caracas Center y La Colonia Tovar



Hacienda Santa Teresa ; Margarita y Barquisimeto

El Salto Angel; Puerto Ordaz e Isla La Tortuga

Las Salinas de Araya; Las Haciendas Cacaoteras y Las aguas termales de Paria

La Chinita en Maracibo

Your RSVP for our wedding

As you know we have send out a "Save the Date" Evite with the details for the wedding and registry.

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/WKVYYIIIUEJWSICIVDUY/wedding
http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/VCCRWJMINCQFXRYEDJSI/margarita

http://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/michelleandjon05232009

In order to fine tune the planning and get all the logistics ready to offer you a great stay in Venezuela, we will appreciate your RSVP by Jan 15th.

A los Venezolanos, no se preocupen por el RSVP tan pronto... a ustedes no tengo que reservarles hotel en Caracas ;oP (para Marzo me pueden avisar por aquello de los ultimos arreglos). Pero si vamos a tener el agrado de que nos acompanen a Margarita, entonces avisen para cuadrar bien los paquetes

The planning for the Honeymoon & The registry

With so many preparations for the wedding, we have not decided yet where and when go for our honeymoon, but most probably it will happen right after Margarita.

As for the places to go we have 6 different options, and instead of a regular registry, we have opened a “Honey fund registry” so you can help us decide where to go.

http://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/michelleandjon05232009

These are our options:

Iran: we have very good Persian friends who have done an excellent job in making us want to go and check out the history, culture, architecture, gastronomy of Iran. Growing up in the US during the 1980's, Jon has always had a fascination with post-revolutionary Iran, a land that was once the historical center of diverse, liberal, and intellectual thought, spawning such enlightened thinkers as Zarathustra and Cyrus, to the progressive ambitions of the Safavid empire, and now its recent and drastic shift towards men like Khomeini and Khamenei. In spite of the radical views espoused by each of this country's post-Pahlavi leaders, in how many other states in the region did citizens hold a candlelight vigil following 9/11?


India: The land which many of Jon's closest friends from childhood to today call home. The world's second most populous and by far most diverse country is the jarring blip from both of our travel maps. The ancestral home of Hinduism and Buddhism that is also home to the world's 2nd largest Muslim population also happens to be the world's largest democracy and houses the world's largest English speaking population. A land whose emigrants to the US comprise 30% of our medical doctors, and whose entrepeneurs were responsible for 19% of our IPO's. A nation that went in a span of 60 years from colonialism to independence to communism to democracy, sharing "special" relationships with both the Soviet Union and US that will be a major player in the "Post-American World."

Indonesia: The world's 4th most populous country which the greatest # of muslims call home is also a secular (yet fragile) democracy. This country is among the world's highest in both volcanic activity and tropical biodiversity, ranging from the paradise of Bali to the chaos of Jakarta... where this great man was once just the new kid named Barry

Australia: A beautiful land of warmth and comfort which has managed to maintain its spiritual aboriginal grandeur in the face of rapid progress. With an open arms immigration policy and spirit of opportunity, is it possible that this great country so closely mimmicks American values that it has even surpassed the US? In fact, might we have imagined such a geopolitical outcome had the US been sheltered by such aquatic borders? We certainly will not be returning on Oceanic 815!

Russia: The 2nd most jarring blip from both of our travel maps that has been and will continue to be (whether we like it or not) a critical player in shaping the world. It is this land which Jon has been most fascinated by ever since taking breaks from being taught how evil they are during elementary school to go through duck and cover nuclear attack drills. The majority of the world may subscribe more to Adam Smith than Lenin, but which one's body is still kept frozen and on display for all to see? As we continue to self-destruct and destroy each other, perhaps it was Bakunin who will prove most prescient after all.

Hawaii: Volcanoes and jungles and beaches! oh my oh my! From its history as a leper colony to yet another place that Barack once called home... now holds the key to the smoke monster and the Dharma Initiative!

clu

What to expect from a Venezuelan wedding?

FUN, A LOT OF FUN!!!!

Venezuelan weddings are hold at night, so the party can extend until the sunrise. So, in a Catholic wedding the mass service to bless the union is celebrated right before the big celebration. In our case the church celebration will start at 8.00 pm and it will last for ~1 hour. After getting God blessing is time to move for the big party.


Once at the party room, music starts and it won’t stop for a minute until the very end. Venezuelans love dancing, so live music with Latin rhythms is offered with no room for a formal dinner, so all night small appetizers and drinks are offered, with a light meal buffet around midnight and “breakfast” around 3.30 am






So, get ready for a non sleep night full of dancing and drinking as you won’t have to drive: we will properly plan for your transportation hotel-church-party room-hotel.
And do not forget the after party… which will take place in “Isla Margarita” and you won’t have to worry for any detail as we will go with an “All included package”