Civil ceremony

A few weeks back Marc and I went to fill in forms to demonstrate our 'intention to marry'. This is an old tradition in England. In the past your names would be put on a noticeboard in the Church so that everyone could see who was getting married and could object if they so wished during a certain timeframe. Today names are supposedly posted somewhere in Camden Town Hall, a bustling and anonymous administrative building. Clearly, no-one objected because I was able to pick up our certificates and deposit them in the register office where we will have our civil ceremony!

We will have our civil ceremony in Old Marylebone Town Hall, where my parents got married. And Paul McCartney married his wife Linda there! Cool trivia.

Meanwhile I've been sent ceremony wording options and honestly? Most of them make me want to puke. I'm sorry but I just don't like mushy vows. I like to say what is necessary in law/according to a particular religion and nothing else. So I shall edit it all down to a bare minimum. The registrar will think I am very grumpy indeed.

So there's one thing ticked off the list. Oh, and did I tell you? I have a FA-BU-LOUS dress for the civil ceremony! Can't wait to walk down those stairs with Marc!

Venue Hunting

I have spent the last week looking for a venue and you know what? I'm so fed up of the whole process already! Clearly nothing will encompass all the elements that we would hope to find, in addition to the fact that everybody and his uncle three times removed has an opinion on the matter.

And you know the most audacious thing? You can imagine what one of my favourite aspects of weddings is: cake! But, lo and behold, in Israel people don't even have the big wedding cake and cake cutting ceremony! Clearly I will not compromise on cake! But, weddings in Israel are unusual and special and I have always wanted to marry here.

So take a look at my front runner of the moment, a venue called Derech Eretz. It's an open garden whose only disadvantage is that you can't have a band. All music must be played through the venue's amplification system, which controls the sound levels and ensures they comply with environmental standards. Bands won't hook up to this amplification system and thus in all gardens and open spaces people are obliged to have a DJ - something Marc and I didn't want. I'm happy to compromise but I don't want to push him into something he's not comfortable with so we may have to continue the search.

Here are the pictures - what do you think?