I'm in my thirties, divorced, and remarrying. My new SO is much more open minded, so we are doing it totally different. I'm still in the planning stages of how the ceremony will go, but i know that I am wearing a wine and copper colored saree instead of the traditional white or creme colored American wedding dress. I am designing the wedding around an adaptation of the Saptapadi, the seven blessings or vows recited, each on a lap around a sacred fire. The adaptation being that we will be using a flaming chalice (Unitarian Universalist sacred symbol) and will be the main focus of the ceremony. My minister will give a brief introduction explaining some of our personal (John's and my own) sacred beliefs. Our reception will feature trip hop music and an international buffet. It will be much less formal than it sounds because we will be working within a very limited budget.

My fiance and I are members of The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. We are planning a temple wedding for a Friday where I will wear white. That Saturday we plan to have a reception where I will wear a purple dress. I'm hoping to do the purple dress in the style of the Philippines national dress to honor my fiance's country and heritage. My daughter will be my only bridesmaid and she will wear gold. My colors are purple and gold. I look great in purple and my daughter looks great in gold. My fiance will also wear purple (he refuses to wear gold because he's afraid his skin will look darker). I will have a bouquet but it will be made of silk flowers, gold roses and purple wisteria by a friend of mine who has done flowers for weddings professionally. Another friend of mine is a professional photographer and is giving me at least a 50% discount on the pictures. My boss (who is married to one of my best friends) is going to DJ for us because he hates to dance. As for food, we'd like to do a combination of foods that are meaningful to both of us and we've considered asking our guests to bring refreshments to share in lieu of gifts. We've also discussed having a simple buffet with jasmine rice to be topped by a Filipino chicken or pork dish. I'm hoping to make some of my great-grandmother's treats (shortbread, french pastry cakes) to serve also. My aunt has a friend that does custom wedding cakes. We've chosen the basic design for our cake, a design that has deep meaning for us both.

Nothing date specific has been done beyond choosing a tentative date. We are waiting for the necessary paperwork from USCIS (aka immigration). We are hoping to keep the budget as low as possible, hopefully $1000 or less. So far, based on the prices I've got, we are on track with that budget.

I've been thinking about shoes and I think I will look for some gold flats. I won't wear heals because my fiance is only about two inches taller than I am and I want to look shorter than he does. He has some nice dressy shoes that give him a little more height and will probably wear those as it's easier for us to dance together that way.

Thanks! I had chosen the colors before making the connection, but my fiance's name translates to "king" and he told me early in the relationship that he was looking for his "princess." I also live on a street with a "royal" name; so, it seemed fitting to use the royal colors as our wedding colors. Also, while we are separated waiting for his VISA, planning the details helps the time pass more pleasantly.