be prepared to marry a mexican...

with all the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in getting married...jeez. it's no wonder couples run on to vegas!

just to give you a rundown of all the red tape, here is what i have to present at the civil registrar's office in cuernavaca:

• original and 3 copies of my birth certificate with the proper stamp or seal of the issuing authority of the country of origin OR legalized by the mexican embassy in the issuing country. documents must be translated into spanish by the officially designated translator of the municipality of cuernavaca.

• original and 3 copies of the authorization to contract marriage issued by the national institute of migration.

• original and 3 copies of my passport.

• original and 3 copies of my actual status in the country (as of now, tourist).

PLUS!!!

• blood tests for sexually transmitted diseases and blood type.

• medical certificate from an approved hospital or health center confirming health (and once you have this certificate, it's only valid 15 days, so rush rush!)

• copy of the id's of all the witnesses (4).

• certificate of attendance to a family planning course.

• all documents have to be presented with 8 days minimun in order to reserve a date for marriage.

do you have a headache yet after reading all that??? i hope not because there is more still...

to get the authorization from the national institute of migration, they need:

• original and copy of the application form signed and approved.

• original and copy of my passport and all pages.

• copy of my migratory card.

• original and 2 copies of the official receipt of payment for migratory services.

• a letter signed by both of us in which we declare that we have no legal impediment to contract marriage, and to indicate when and where we plan to contract marriage.

sigh. i don't even have the energy to write anything more after all that.

if you ever plan to getting married in mexico to a mexican, check out these sites for the exact information:

registro civil cuernavaca
instituto nacional de migracion

hot off the press and we're here

May 29 - 1:32pm - Chiconcuac, Morelos

we are finally in mexico lindo y querido!!! it seems the last two months of planning went by so fast and now we are here and can breathe a sigh of relief! SIGH

we left manila a little sad of course...it's hard to leave mom behind, but i know i'll see her soon but for the first time in my life, it really felt like i was leaving home. it's so bizarre actually. even though i've been roaming around for a while now, this move is really a move. i'm making a new home elsewhere!

but anyway, i'm happy to be here and to start getting more wedding planning scheduled in! we hauled the invitations across the ocean with us (we LOVE LOVE LOVE them by the way!) as well as the little regalos or give-aways. and! i also got the material for my veil heehee!

this weekend we have a boda, so i'm sure that will help with more ideas and things to think about over the next few weeks!

we are happy to be home, so watch out for more posts now that i can concentrate and dedicate time to all the wedding ideas and planning!!! yay!

besos!

one step further

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May 18 - 7:51pm - Manila

after a very eventful departure from shanghai (overweight, overweight, and more overweight - sigh), we finally made it back to manila. we've spent the last couple of days really winding down and letting go of all the stress of packing and moving. it's not over yet, we still have one more leg - the journey across the pacific - but at least we still have bout a week to enjoy being in the tropics.

finally being here i can get back to a lot of the wedding details that i have put off over the last few weeks. there is a lot of paperwork and certificates that i need to get, but i won't bore you with that info. we are really excited about two other things though!

1. we pick up the invitations on friday!
2. we chose the wedding favors today - a little recuerdo for the guests of the philippines.

i'm so anxious already to get the invites - the stress is getting to me. i actually have nightmares about them. the other night i woke up with palpitations because all the paper it was printed on was glittery pink! aaarrrgggghhhhh!

aside from that, i'm sure the week is going to fly by and we will be off before we know it. i just hope i'm able to squeeze a round of golf in between...

besos!

good-byes

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May 4 - 12:22pm - Shanghai

we have finally recovered from our RoJo Bye-Bye Shanghai party!!! what a super fun night of great friends, good conversation, and of course the infamous jamon!

we are going to miss everyone dearly! thank you for being part of making shanghai such a great place and important time in our lives...

besos!

first of many...

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April 28 - 11:13am - Shanghai

oh my!!! if last saturday was any hint of what is in store for me bachelorette-wise, then i am one lucky bride! hahahaha!

a very special shout out goes out to diana and krystle and all my ladies who planned a super evening for me! we had games, surprises, prizes, and some other fun stuff (of which i cannot get into the details! ) the evening lasted way into the wee hours...i can't even remember the last time i got home as the sun was coming up!!!

great girlfriends like these ladies are definitely going to be one of the things i will miss most about shanghai! thank you girls! i felt very, very special and loved .

here are a few photos from saturday...i can't post all of them after all!



a few of my 'pink bunnies': noor, ching, elaine, and dianita...

and we can't forget the glowing new mom: alejandra...

eunice, elaine, and ale...and diana's gorgeous orchids in the background...the ladies put me in the hot seat to see how well i know rodrigo! hahahaha...let's just say i'm glad no money was involved!

heidi (another bride-to-be!), krystle, and rosa...krys already holding the next game's 'prop'!

project runway bachelorette style! hahaha...with limited resources to create my dream dress! these girls and their imaginations...

heidi's designers won the challenge!
auf wiedersehen to my girls!!! boo!

my 'veil' didn't hold up!

most of us made it out to m1nt, where we certainly raised a few eyebrows with the bunny ears and all...

ayyyyyyyyyyy! what fun!!! needless to say, sunday i was completely useless! but at least i was able to rest well for monday! the movers came and packed all of our earthly belongings into 25 very large boxes (!) and whisked them away to be shipped to mexico...

so we have an almost empty apartment and 2 more weeks to pack what's left before heading to manila for a couple of weeks...

this saturday we have a little good bye party here at home, so we have to prepare for that too...the next few days are going to fly by...we are running doing last minute errands, seeing friends, and breathing in as much of shanghai as we possibly can...

besos!

gigil!

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April 18 - 1:04pm - Shanghai

the weather in shanghai is all over the place. one day it's 30 degrees out and the next it's back down to 12. this is really messing with my wardrobe, especially since i'm packing and unpacking our winter clothes constantly. in a week we won't have a choice since the movers will come to pack everything up and we'll be left with just a few basics...

rodrigo and i are getting really anxious to go already...sometimes we feel like we have one foot here, and the other already in mexico, and that is preventing us from getting anything productive done...hahaha

can i just say that i am getting really excited about the wedding!!! hahaha as if you couldn't tell...some friends are already talking hotel bookings and flight reservations, and i'm getting really GIGIL yehay!!! i love you girls!!!

this weekend is shanghai F1...so we are going to see our last live race...one of the many things we'll miss about living here...

be back soon...

besos!

too busy

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March 31 - 7:40pm - Shanghai

i've spent the whole week dealing with moving agencies and their quotes to get our stuff across the pacific, so alas, not much time left for wedding planning.

but i'm waiting on some samples to arrive tomorrow. hopefully they will help me solve the 'illumination' issue i have to deal with, since dinner is out in the garden...we shall see.

aside from that,i can't think of much else that i have done the last few days that has to do with the wedding.

OH! wait, i remember (and this has everything to do with planning) - i started my workout routine again! hahaha. i MUST fit into the dress! i just remembered cause as i sit here typing, my triceps are killing me...uff.

i'm going to whip something up for dinner. be back soon...

besos!

our big move back

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March 21 - 2:14pm - Shanghai

i may as well start with the BIG news: we are moving back to MEXICO! crazy, huh? :O after giving it A LOT of thought, we have decided our adventure IN china (not with china) must come to an end for now...

so there you go...if you thought i didn't have enough piled on my plate, now i have to deal with packing up our lives and shipping it across the world. hahaha but i'm not complaining, in fact, it's going to be much easier to plan this wedding now that i don't have to do it across the pacific.

this last week we went to yiwu, about 3 hours from shanghai. we bought all sorts of fun stuff to decorate the reception. i'm excited about it and i want to get there already to see how it will look.

our printer FINALLY sent us the first proof of the invitation. i was beginning to worry we were going to have to find another printer. but the design she presented is actually perfect, we love it, and aside from the necessary minor changes, it's pretty much what we wanted. so we hope to get those printed soon and mail them by end of June maybe...

did you notice that we added a gift page to the website? we signed up for registries at pottery barn and at el palacio de hierro. we figured 2 different places gives people a choice, and really for those of you that are internet savvy, it will be easy to make the purchase online if you don't have physical access to the store...

so that was my week pretty much...it's rainy saturday in shanghai (big surprise), so we are going to sit on the couch, snuggle up, and pop in a DVD.

besos!