The day after I got engaged I logged onto Confetti and had a good read of Laura’s diary (my predecessor). I remember thinking that she and her fiancé had packed an awful lot into the months before the wedding ‐ new home, new jobs and what a lot of pressure this must have added to an already busy time. Of course I assumed that we would be different! What I didn’t bank on is a call from RT at 6.30am UK time whilst he was in the US on business when he dropped that bomb‐shell that we had been asked to move out there for a few months this side of the wedding ‐ and what did I think?
We have always said that we would love to work abroad for a couple of years once we were we married and before we started a family ‐ though I didn’t think that it would be to mainland US! We certainly didn’t intend to go before the wedding, besides things are going really well for us in the UK ‐ new house, new car for RT, great friends and brilliant fun planning the wedding with Mum and Paul. However, after spending the last couple of weeks discussing all the options we are agreed that from a career point of view this is too good an opportunity to miss. Sometimes I suppose you’ve just got to hold your nose and jump ‐ hoping that everything will turn out OK.
From my point of view it has been a weird couple of weeks. When RT first told me about the offer I was pretty devastated. I was worried that it would affect our plans for the wedding, that I would miss friends and family and that a really special time in our life would somehow be made less special. What this has taught me is the importance of being part of a strong and committed team with RT; this is something we are doing for us to make our future more secure and ultimately more rewarding ‐ that makes doing this so much easier. The difference with this decision for me is that whenever in the past I’ve had major decisions to make, even if they’ve affected other people, I’ve always been in control. In this case RT and his company have been deciding, when and if I move half way across the world, for how long and at what cost. That for me has been the hardest part in.
Now that the negotiations are nearly over and it looks like we’ll be there from the 1st October, I’m starting to get excited. From my career point of view it comes at a good time. I hate the job I started less that 3 months ago as it doesn’t live up to the expectations set, and like many of my friends in their mid‐late 20’s I’m really starting to re‐evaluate what I want from a career. If we were to stay in the UK I’d probably end up staying in this job at least until the wedding, but going to the US gives me an opportunity to re‐think and come back doing something I’ll actually enjoy and find rewarding for a change. I’ve not told my employers yet which I’m dreading, but at least I can blame my American fiancé!
From a wedding point of view it confirms that we made the right decision on moving the reception to a hotel ‐ it will certainly make things a lot easier to manage. The main issues are decided ‐ the one thing we haven’t sorted is transport, but I’m thinking that I can find cars on Confetti ‐ look at pictures and Mum and Paul will be able to book from this end. It also means that sorting out our wedding list on the internet is now more practical than ever. Mum and I have both printed out the wedding planner so that we can discuss where we’re up to at every stage and make sure everything is done in plenty of time. Hopefully I’ll be leaving work at the end of next week, which gives me September to finish anything else off which can’t wait until we’re back at Christmas, which probably includes my dress ‐ which for me is a real struggle. Everybody says that you try on “the dress” ‐ my problem is that I’ve tried on several dresses which I would love to walk down the aisle in ‐ now of course I’m thinking what if I buy one here and find one I like even more in the US?
So there we have it, as with my wedding planning, my diary will now be coming from the West Coast of America where with an 8 hour time difference and 10 hour flying time the power of the internet will really be put to the test!
