{"id":5214,"date":"2014-02-05T08:18:13","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T13:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weddingsforaliving.com\/?p=5214"},"modified":"2016-07-22T16:04:38","modified_gmt":"2016-07-22T20:04:38","slug":"military-wedding-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingsforaliving.com\/military-wedding-basics","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO: Plan a Military Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Couples or individuals who are active members of the military may want to honor their respective military organization as part of their big day.\u00a0 Although, not a completely comprehensive guide, here’s the need-to-know stuff for us wedding planners when it comes to planning a military wedding.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was actually surprised to discover that planning a military wedding isn’t a whole lot different than planning a civilian one.<\/p>\n

The main differences are the appearance of military uniforms in the bridal party and the attention-getting sword ceremony during the wedding ceremony recessional.<\/p>\n

What to Wear<\/h2>\n

For the groom and any male bridal party members who are active military, the ‘correct’ dress code depends on their rank and the formality of the wedding.<\/p>\n

For a Black Tie wedding, commissioned officers can wear either their dinner or mess uniform.\u00a0 For an ultra-formal white tie and tails wedding, advise your clients to don their evening dress uniform.<\/p>\n

Whether the event is formal or informal, non-commissioned officers should wear dress blues or Army green.\u00a0 Military attendants who are part of the sword or saber ceremony are required to wear white gloves.<\/p>\n

Active military brides have the option to wear either their military dress uniform or a traditional bridal gown.<\/p>\n

The Sword or Saber Ceremony<\/h2>\n

The grand finale of a military wedding ceremony is the formation of a sword or saber arch\u00a0 (in the Air Force and the Army you’ll hear the term ‘swords’; all other divisions refer to them as sabers).\u00a0 If you’ve yet to witness this ritual firsthand, it’s very impressive!<\/p>\n

Immediately following the pronouncement of marriage, and before the couple heads down the aisle, the military honor attendants line-up in pairs in the center aisle.<\/p>\n

On cue, each attendant faces their partner, raises his sword or saber blades up and the tips of each sword touching to form an arch.<\/p>\n

The couple (who may decide to kiss first) then walks through the arch together; the swords or sabers are returned and soldiers exit<\/p>\n

\"military-sword-ceremony\"<\/p>\n

A Second Arch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In some instances a second arch is formed outside the chapel or ceremony area with wedding guests looking on.\u00a0 Again on cue, the military attendants (now outside) create another arch.<\/p>\n

Again, the couple (only) passes through.<\/p>\n

If the bride is a civilian, right before the couple exits the arch, the final pair of military attendants momentarily ‘blocks’ them.\u00a0 The bride then gets a cheeky sword tap on her rear, and one of the attendants tells her, \u201cWelcome to the Navy [or the appropriate military division]!”<\/p>\n

By the way, during the sword or saber ceremony, playing the song associated with the military branch, if permitted, fits in very nicely.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t
Don’t make the mistake of pinning (or attempting to pin) a boutonniere on someone’s military uniform. A soldier’s military decoration is all that’s needed.<\/div><\/div>\n

Cutting the Military Wedding Cake<\/h2>\n

Finally, at the wedding reception many military couples choose to use the groom’s sword or saber to cut the wedding cake.\u00a0 As the wedding planner, make sure the sword\/saber is cleaned before the cake is cut and is cleaned, once again, before it’s placed back in its sheath.<\/p>\n

And that’s really it.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that military couples face the same issues faced by civilians planning a wedding: budgeting, finding the right reception site, family ‘drama’, etc.; so no need to panic or worry if you’re ‘qualified’ to plan one. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

When in doubt about the correct military protocol, simply defer your questions to the nearest military base personnel; I guarantee that someone there can point you in the right direction.<\/p>\n

HAPPY PLANNING!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, you CAN plan a military wedding!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[213,212,304],"post_series":[],"yoast_head":"\nMilitary Wedding Basics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wedding Planners: Get the basic need-to-know info about working with couples planning a military wedding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weddingsforaliving.com\/military-wedding-basics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Military Wedding 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