When can I begin a marriage visa application (U.S. citizen)?

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this is a stupid question. I've been doing as much research as I can, but I'm afraid I'm not quite sure how the timelines work.

I am a US citizen. I plan to marry my fiance, a British citizen, in August of 2010 in the US. We would then both like to go back to the UK, where we will live together, as soon (like a week!) after our marriage as possible.

Obviously, I'd like to apply directly for a marriage visa so I could begin looking for work (if accepted) as soon as possible. But I can't start that process until after we're married, meaning that we'd be trying to get the visa accepted in a week! That seems very risky.

Is my best bet to apply in advance for a fiancee visa, and then apply for a marriage visa as soon as we get to the UK, showing evidence of our marriage in the US? That seems odd, as we will already be married by the time I enter the UK on a fiance visa!

Any clarification would be appreciated!

You cannot apply for a fiance visa if you are already married and if you try to enter the UK on a fiance visa after you are married you risk being refused entry.

you will have to apply for a spousal visa after your marriage and you must meet all the requirements of that visa to get entry in to the UK.
You would need to extend your timeframe considerably