Ben Haines: wedding planner!
 

I am posting simply to offer Ben Haines a very genuine (and public) thanks for going well, well beyond the call of Fodorite duty and virtually serving as my personal wedding planner. I was thrilled a few months ago when my fiance agreed to have our wedding in London (even though neither of us are from there, and every single guest in attendance would be travelling overseas to be there). After some preliminary discussion revealed that most family/friends were actually excited by the idea, he decided that whatever I wanted was good for him too!! Yay! Except that we didn't really know where to begin with our wedding planning from Miami. Ben Haines enthusiastically came to the rescue, and laid the ground work for our venue, caterer, and officiant. Thanks to his efforts, we are now booked to be married July 21st at the Savoy, and to Honeymoon on the Queen Mary 2 sailing from Southampton to NY. We are so very grateful and excited, and looking forward to sharing a pre-wedding meal with him in London. I'm sure my dad (Myer) who has also received very helpful London advice from Mr. Haines on his own trips will also be pleased to finally meet our British fountain of information.

I'd also like to mention, in the face of lots of negativity that often floats around the board, that other Fodorites have been so nice and helpful in the past. I was particularly delighted by Sheila Ritchie, who shipped me crates of my favorite water from the UK (and wouldn't allow me to pay her back) and also once sent me a lovely picture book of Scotland. The efforts people make to help one another's dreams come true are never forgotten. Forget the negative people, and keep helping each other. This board is the best!!

Kimberly, best wishes for a lovely wedding & honeymoon.

And yes, Sir Ben Haines (he was knighted right here on this board) is indeed a gentleman in the truest sense of that word, and a most resourceful fellow.

No words can aptly serve to describe my feelings for my favorite resident of Aberdeen, Ms. Ritchie, but let it suffice to say that where I come from, she's known as "a class act".

BC

How lovely! What an excellent way to begin married life!
I agree with all good things said about Mr (sorry) Sir Ben Haines, he is a gentleman and a scholar and Fodors and Fodorites are lucky to have him here.
Sheila is pretty special, isn't she?? :)

How wonderful & exciting Kimberley. Will you use their chapel for the ceremony? I believe Elizabeth Taylor had one of her weddings there LOL! And I believe Prince Charles had his 21st b'day party there. Lots of good luck & bravo Sir Haines.

Thanks for good wishes!!
We will not be holding the wedding in the chapel - the original challenge was that we wanted to be married by a rabbi, and The Ritz (our first venue idea) would permit only civil officiants. Our ceremony will be in The Savoy's Gondoliers room (in front of the fireplace) - see http://www.the-savoy-group.com/savoy...nues/Inner.asp, followed by a reception in the Patience & Princess Ida Room, overlooking the Thames. Thanks for letting me know of previous events there - it is very exciting. We just spent Thanksgiving weekend on a cruise, and I walked into the ship's library to find a book left out on a sofa: Murder at the Savoy. I sat down and read it then and there: the true account of a royal Princess who murdered her husband there in the 20's.

How marvellous and how nice of you to come and share the good news and thank you! Will Mr Haines be attending your wedding too? That would be marvellous!

And your honeymoon sounds great too - very relaxing way of returning back to the USA.

Wishing you the very best of luck!

Best wishes and congratulations all around! What an extraordinary way to start a life in travel (and everything else) together. :-)

Kimberley, I was thinking about you just the other day.

(PS, am I invited?)

(PPS I'm only joking.) Much love and best wishes

Your wedding sounds like it is going to be just beautiful- congratulations!

Yes, Ben Haines helped me too. He sent me some much information directly to my email. In fact, he sent the info I needed and much, much more that put my trip right over the top! He is the type you wouldn't mind paying for his wonderful knowledge and generous assistance. Glad to see him being praised here in this forum.

Congratulations, have a wonderful life and thanks for a beautiful post. We need more like this one....mimi
Cheers for Ben.

How wonderful! Yes, you have certainly hooked up with two extroadinarily generous people!

I'm also an admirer of (Sir) Ben and a personal fan of our Sheila.

Can't wait to read your post when you return, Kimberley!

CONGRATULATIONS!

What pleasant people you all are.

To marry at the Chapel Royal of the Savoy I think you need the permission of the Lord Chamberlain, as it is a Royal Peculiar, run under the direction of the Queen (though she is kind enough to let the Bishop of London handle the detail). I doubt you could have a Jewish wedding there, but Prince Charles wants to Defender of all the faiths, so give the matter forty years and you may see change.

[email protected]

A lovely post about 2 of my favorite people!

And I wish you the happiest ,lovliest life together!

we saw the QM2 exhibit in Paris last month and WOW... you are on the ship of dreams!!

Congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy marriage Kimberley. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary next year. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and other times like we have been together forever!

I'm another admirer of Ben Haines. His advice made our train travel from Prague to Vienna, and Vienna to Budapest in spring much easier than it would have been if I'd been left to my own devices. He also gave us other suggestions which helped us with our first visit to these three cities. He is absolutely the best!

Thank you, thank you! (That's 2 - one from me, and one from Dan who was extremely pleased by all the good wishes). My mom called last night to say that my dad had found the thread and printed it out for her to enjoy as well, so all your positivity is touching more than just me alone. It's really good to know that others share my appreciation of BH and SR!!

Has anyone ever planned accomodations for a wedding in Tuscany? I am checking out things on the web, such as TuscanDreams, but would like more to get personal references. Any information would be very helpful and much appreciated. Thanks!

This certainly answers the thread, "Who is this poster and why should I take their advice?"
Kimberley - Congratulations!
Ben - you personify what this forum is all about!
JoeG

I was thinking the same thing, JoeG. The only word to describe this post is heartwarming! :)

Congrats, Kimberley!

Oh NO!! We have hit an unsurmountable scheduling obstacle which means that my fiance will not be able to fulfill the residency requirement to get a marriage license in the UK (I'm fine, but we both have to do it). Final time calculations reveal that we simply will not be able to make it happen!

Not to panic...worse things have happened in the world. We still want to honeymoon on the QM2, but we will start our honeymoon with 6 days in London and then cruise back. Instead of flying over 5 days before the wedding as planned, we will get married here in Miami and fly over the next day. We are hoping, however, that Ben Haines will still do us the honor of dinner in appreciation of his efforts.

This change in plans does not change our appreciation for his help, and for everybody's good wishes. This was the happiest thread I've seen in a long time (not just 'cause it's about my wedding, but that helps)...it was just such an appreciation-fest!!

Thanks all.
Kimberley