How many times did you have the chance to experience a military wedding? And while you certainly already know what to expect from a regular wedding, there are some things that are unique and characteristic for military-themed weddings only.
Being aware of everything that makes military weddings stand out is not necessary to enjoy the ceremony, however, it is better you know what to expect in advance, so there will be no surprises.
Truth is, there are many traditions and customs that are specific to these types of wedding ceremonies, yet not all of them should and probably will be utilized on the one you’re invited to. Some things are a great tradition that we wouldn’t want the future generations to miss out on, and in this article, we will be talking about them.
Wedding Venue
In order to be eligible to organize a military wedding, either the groom or the bride should be active service members. No matter what branch of the military they are enrolled in, it is most likely that they are living on base and that the couple is relocated from their homes due to frequent deployments of military personnel.
Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised if the wedding is scheduled to take place in some extraordinary places, unconventional for civil weddings. Getting married directly on a military base, with the recessional taking place in the military chapel is very common.
Moreover, this is somewhat expected from a cadet or a senior member of the Army.
Dress Code
You probably already presumed that there will be lots of men and women who are also serving the Army invited and present at the wedding. Also, you did see the pictures of a soon-to-be-married couple dressed in their military uniforms instead of a formal suit.
Well, this is exactly what you can expect to see on one such wedding.
If it’s the groom who is an active service member, it’s probable that he will be wearing his uniform and not a classic wedding suit.
If it’s a bride who’s the member of the military actually, the chances are that she will be wearing her wedding dress. However, one exception and common tradition are wearing military boots instead of shoes underneath the dress. This is to show respect and give credit to the unit she’s serving.
Finally, it’s very rare to see boutonnieres present at the wedding, since they don’t go well with the uniforms, right? Instead, all the military personnel present at the wedding is welcome to wear their medals and ribbons, as well as military name tags instead of regular floral decorations.
And just so the other people present on the wedding shouldn’t feel somewhat less important, creating a custom challenge coins with Embleholics and handing them over to the other people present at the wedding who are not actively serving in the military is one way to go.
Arch of Sabers
Some traditions are not to be missed talking about military weddings. There are some differences if one of the newlyweds is serving in the Air Force, Navy, or in Marine Corps.
However, famous saber arch performance in front of the chapel where an actual wedding is taking place is sort of a tradition no matter what unit bride or the groom is enrolled in.
Furthermore, you are likely to see and witness unconventional ways of handing over the rings by the best men (probably on the tip of the saber) or cutting the wedding cake (once again, depending on the style and their preference, they are likely to use military-themed blades to cut the cake).