The Race Is On…

After passing our interview, it was on to planning the wedding.

Now, originally we weren’t planning on any real sort of wedding ceremony due to time constraints, Covid restrictions, etc.

That, and honestly after all the stress of getting approved, we were really just exhausted.

Well, fate had a different idea. During the final minutes of the interview, the DHA Officer asked us when the wedding was and we said we hadn’t gotten married yet because we were waiting to get through the interview and get approved. Kim then said “oh, we’ll probably just do something small at my Mom’s house in Gordon’s Bay”.

On our way out of DHA, we looked at each other and agreed that was a good idea. So, we called her Mom and asked if we could, and she said yes.

Next hurdle was getting a date.

Now, if you’re planning on getting married in South Africa, particularly in the Cape Town area, I strongly recommend hiring Andred and Allison from I Do Weddings. Not only were they instrumental in getting us through the DHA bureaucracy, but they did a phenomenal job with the ceremony as well.

There were two options and we chose the afternoon of the 30th of October as our wedding day.

Dear reader - This was 2 weeks away.

Guests and Food and Wine, Oh My!

We quickly realized that we didn’t have a theme, hadn’t thought of who to invite, and, oh, yeah, we also needed little things like food and wine and flowers and a wedding cake.

I’ll spare you most of the details of the panic planning of an unexpected wedding ceremony as there was nothing really unusual about it.

What I want to do in this chapter is really give thanks to everyone who came and everyone who helped us prepare for our wedding.
I want to thank three superheroes in particular:

My Mother in Law - She was gracious and opened her house to us for our wedding. She was also instrumental in helping us arrange the flowers, the wine, the decorating, and the catering. A superstar in every meaning of the word in helping us make our day special. Mom, thank you for everything you did for us and for welcoming me into the family.

Eon and Anneke - These two awesome people are the first friends I made in South Africa and served as our Best Man and Maid of Honor. They kept us calm, helped us get the house organized on our wedding day, made sure we ate, fed us mimosas, and continually reminded us to relax and breathe. My heart is full having best friends like them here in my new home. Seriously…we’re blessed to have you two in our lives.

We Did It!!!

Our wedding day could not have gone better. The weather was beautiful and we were surrounded by family and friends.

I only wish Kim’s dad, who passed away in July, and my daughters could have been there with us. Their presence was truly missed.

Kim was absolutely stunning in her dress and when Mom walked her down the aisle to Han and Leia’s theme from Star Wars, it brought tears to my eyes.

Andred did a fabulous job with the ceremony, going above and beyond anything we expected. The wedding sermon he prepared quoted Bob Marley…how cool is that?

Friends and family gave toasts to us that made us both laugh and cry.

A family friend gave a stunning and heartfelt tribute to Kim’s dad.

Another friend toasted to those who couldn’t be there, including my family, which brought me to tears.

Mom read messages from friends and family around the world that people had sent that again, made us all laugh and cry.

Kim and I were truly humbled by the kindness, love, and generosity of our friends, including one friend of ours gifted us with his time and talent to do our wedding photos.

Everyone mingled and talked and laughed and ate until well into the evening.

For all the stress and anxiety leading up to this day, not just since I arrived in South Africa, but over the last 20 months, the day could not have been more perfect.

What’s Next?

As I write this, we’re just beyond two weeks married. It’s still a little surreal after our nearly two year long journey to get here. Although things have changed, they really haven’t. We still choose each other every day. We still laugh about me being an “immigrant trophy husband” (as my daughter called me). We still watch sappy movies together and cook together and just “life” together.

Having no other choice but to build a relationship over time and distance thanks to Covid lockdowns and travel bans really did push us to build a strong foundation and have all the hard conversations early.

I still look around in amazement that I live here now…and that “here” is on the opposite side of the world from where I was born and raised. I look at Kim and am amazed at how she never gave up on us, even when it seemed like the world was never going to let us be together.

My daughter and I talk all the time and, honestly, I think she likes Kim more than she likes me…and that’s ok. The two of them have become fast friends and that warms my heart.

The next step in this journey is my Temporary Resident Visa, a process we’ll start about a week from now. And that, my friends, is a story for another time.

Thanks for stopping by… please “like” Biltong and Bourbon on Facebook, too…Lekke dag!