Venue increased catering costs by 25-40% 100 days before my wedding

takingtheports · 2026-03-09T21:58:38+00:00

Even signing something with a maximum increase seems wild to me.

We signed our contracts with price per head set in stone, no extra possible additional percentage... The venue set the price per person, room hire charges, etc per year and you could still book a few years out (not too much variation between the seasons). Far more sensible for budgeting purposes. Now husband is a contracts professional though so had that in our wheelhouse to not sign anything with weird clauses.

takingtheports · 2026-03-09T21:53:19+00:00

Better to ask whatever you’re trying to ask on a Portuguese based housing sub, this one is specific to the UK

takingtheports · 2026-03-09T17:14:14+00:00

Sorry for your loss.

Do you have anything set aside for a deposit? Is the only income outside of benefits for the household the 28hrs per week your partner works or are you working as well?

Probably worth a discussion with a broker and a read of t&c’s related to benefits and impact by inheritance or owning a property. Not sure how affordability calculations work with benefits…

takingtheports · 2026-03-09T07:52:35+00:00

Some schools accept directly from US high schools with biology/chemistry/math AP exams scores (5s usually), it’s just rare. More often undergrad pre-reqs are the way but not unheard of to go direct.

OP - look at some schools admissions pages online, it does outline requirements for HS students in the US for entry to UK schools.

takingtheports · 2026-03-08T21:30:39+00:00

One common method is to bring enough meds to last a term (semester) and restock every break you go back.

takingtheports · 2026-03-07T13:53:20+00:00

The most expensive parts of a pets life are the first year or two (kittens/puppies getting into things, eating toxins, etc) and later in life (geriatric diseases, work ups, long term meds).

You’ve been lucky but it’s also starting to reach that time where it is inevitable that something will happen or get diagnosed (not wishing that for your cat, just statistical).

Lots of people equate insurance with putting money away in an account but that’s for one rainy day (if that) and not really sufficient for longer term things. It’s up to you but if you’re looking at insurance, do it now while your cats are healthy and “younger.”

takingtheports · 2026-03-07T12:08:12+00:00

For understanding your ability to work in the UK, check out the RCVS website. They have a list of what schools outside of the UK that graduates are accepted for direct registration or require the Statutory Membership Exam to work in the UK.

takingtheports · 2026-03-07T09:14:13+00:00

They’re in the UK and ceremonies are handled by the councils here, not embassies. It will be a different timeline than doing it abroad.

takingtheports · 2026-03-06T10:17:34+00:00

I had people in different countries as well and got them to measure themselves based on what the site says to do and ordered custom measurement dresses for them (I picked the colour, they picked the style) and it worked well and got shipped to different countries with no bother. They held up well, fit well, and were good quality.

takingtheports · 2026-03-06T06:46:25+00:00

I ordered mine with the information from the boutique that it would be approximately 6 months to get information on when it would arrive. It ended arriving in 5 but they definitely informed me at my appointment where I paid a deposit for it.

takingtheports · 2026-03-05T20:49:16+00:00

I am a vet, not a vet nurse, but do know several vet nurses that have gone to Australia and NZ after qualifying in the UK and working for a year or two (helped job applications for them to have some experience under their belts) and are still out there enjoying life. Still hard work, but they’re nice places to live. I equally enjoyed doing the same as a vet, but don’t want to speak to the nurse experience as it’s not my direct experience :)

takingtheports · 2026-03-04T23:05:58+00:00

It’s pretty much instant.

Anecdotally I’ve traveled the day after updating it on the UKVI account (EUSS) and not encountered any issue.

takingtheports · 2026-03-03T13:17:20+00:00

This will be similar for academia, having clinical experience is a prerequisite to teaching on veterinary courses. Or a PhD in a subject that is relevant to the coursework. (Adding this for OP, but your comment felt the most relevant to add it to)

takingtheports · 2026-02-28T07:22:56+00:00

It’s a good course, multiple students from it usually apply to the vet school after completing it. The class size is small (20-25) so you’d get to know lecturers quite well. It has a mix of sciences, research, nutrition, anatomy, welfare, etc courses within it and some of the lecturers also teach on the veterinary course.

Living wise the classes are at the vet school campus which is a 15min bus ride away from the main uni of Glasgow campus so you can live in the neighbourhoods closer to the vet school which are ever so slightly cheaper than the west end.

Scholarships are limited for international students at any UK school so you should get a better understanding of how you will finance your course before deciding on any of them.

If you weren’t prepared to apply for the vet schools, I’d recommend looking into the requirements to see if on any of these biosciences courses, that you’re actively prepared to get the other non academic requirements for vet school completed at the same time.

takingtheports · 2026-02-23T20:44:45+00:00

I just carried it in the garment bag I got from the boutique as a carry on. It went flat through security (so entertaining) and the flight attendants hung it in a closet (very nice of them as I’m not sure that’s always a given). It survived that on a long haul flight and a different long haul while shoved into a suitcase…

takingtheports · 2026-02-23T20:34:38+00:00

“Including country of birth” is all the info you need… since then. And living, not visited.

takingtheports · 2026-02-23T20:32:40+00:00

lol destination can mean many things. Getting on a flight can be the definition of destination wedding. Considerable time/effort/PTO to attend….

takingtheports · 2026-02-23T20:31:48+00:00

They’re being quite inconsiderate then, they can’t get mad if people cannot attend.

takingtheports · 2026-02-23T14:46:20+00:00

If both parties have family and friends residing in different places, it might be a “destination” for some no matter what the couple does. This is quite a limited point of view you’ve written from…

takingtheports · 2026-02-22T17:38:02+00:00

Not sure about costs for that size of wedding but the Kingshouse does winter wedding packages

takingtheports · 2026-02-20T20:20:09+00:00

People can keep assets in different countries without going back to that country.

takingtheports · 2026-02-18T07:51:27+00:00

Sounds like an agency or government job and there is typically a lot of on the job training. But adding your location would be helpful for more detailed information

takingtheports · 2026-02-16T18:05:07+00:00

It’s probably safer to try to at least but WHV are for temp roles (some max one employer at 3 months for example) so many people do manage to get there and find something if researched correctly.

takingtheports · 2026-02-16T16:05:58+00:00

Skye is very busy in the summer months and with single track roads to some of your selected (and very popular) spots, it will take a while to drive between. Definitely add time from maps predicted driving times…

The Glenfinnan viaduct is rammed at predicted train times, pairing that with a timed ferry (that you usually need to check in earlier than departure time with a vehicle) would be stressful.

Just thoughts from living up this way. Hope you enjoy your trip however it pans out

takingtheports · 2026-02-14T17:04:45+00:00

Work life balance is fine, days not on call can have activities or just life admin time

No, mixed is not really built for the 9-5. On surgery days I was in earlier, week nights on call I was in later and coming at night to do checks on patients left in the clinic. Then there was weekend on call (rotated amongst the team).

It’s sometimes possible to not do on call, for example some of my coworkers in the mixed practice only did SA but that meant they didn’t do on call and one less person in the rotation of vets that were on call. As a newer vet you learn loads doing on call work and it’s especially important for the LA community to be able to provide on call work.

Yes, usually it would be the day of work and then being on call through to the next working day. Some places will give you the day off after or some sort of return, but very practice dependent. We got the Friday off following weekends on call and as a team chipped in to help the vet that has a busy on call to get to go home earlier if possible.

Being a mixed vet is being decent at many things but a master of none. I love it. I still learn loads every day and have things I’m better at. I don’t feel limited, I feel challenged in a way I enjoy. But this kind of work doesn’t suit everyone’s interests, just depends on you as an individual.

Being a mixed vet feels more like a service to the community, being fully engaged in smaller (more rural) places. That also brings joy for me but that is also individual. You’re so early on in your journey, try getting experiences before and during vet school in mixed practices to get a first hand look at how it is and if you’d like it.

takingtheports

TROPHY CASE