Tuxedo ahoy

I now have the tuxedo I'll be wearing at the wedding on July 4th. (This picture isn't me of course but it is the tuxedo style.) So that's one more thing done for the UK trip.

They were worried about fitting me because of my size and shape -- not just my weight but the profile of my shoulders -- but I'm told it came out fine. (I didn't get to see; while I was trying it on, they were shuffling me in and out of parts of it so much that I never got near a mirror with the whole thing on.) The only caveat is that it looks better with the jacket unbuttoned, so I'm to only close it when the bride requires it, such as during photos.

I'd bought some cufflinks because the woman there said it wouldn't come with any, but it turns out it does, and they're matched to the shirt buttons. So now I have cufflinks I'll never wear. Oh well, I didn't spend much on them.

I already have a partial packing list, so things are moving along well for being prepared for the UK trip. The biggest thing in the air right now is the flat. The landlady apparently likes to rent to people overseas, but not enough to be able to accept payment by any means other than a cheque drawn on a UK bank -- which is nigh impossible to get without a hefty fee for anyone outside the UK. The bride's still a UK resident with an account there, so we've given her the money and she's deposited it; however, she's been kept busy with family matters and wedding planning, and hasn't had a chance to send in the last payment. We're long, long past the point we were supposed to have the payment to the landlady, so she's being quite gracious to cut us slack, so the whole situation is nerve-wracking. She also won't give us the exact address, but we're pretty sure we've got it figured out anyway. (But until we have it complete and certain, I can't register my travel with the Department of State.)

There's also a few things we don't yet have. I got the UK power adapter, so that's settled, but we don't yet have the last bits of jewelry for Siobhan's ensemble -- she can get by without them in a pinch, but she's going to be chewing her nails until they show up anyway.

Still, for being more than a week off the trip, we're pretty well prepared.