Forces Sweethearts
One of the most famous weddings in the history of Great Britain was the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh.
They married on the 20th November 1947, the location was Westminster Abbey, the one thing I love about this photo, it is totally timeless.
V-J Day
The Famous Kiss
Greta Friedman, the woman in white kissed by a sailor in New York’s Times Square in a photograph symbolising the end of the second world war.
Planning A Military Wedding
You’ll be happy to hear that military weddings are not all that different from civilian weddings.
Many military couples get married in an academy chapel and/or have the reception on a base, but some decide on a wedding with military traditions in their own church, and have the reception at a hotel.
It’s not the location that creates a military wedding; it’s the uniforms.
Remember, wedding requirements vary depending on rank and military branch, so you would always check with your base protocol officer to find out exactly what you need to do.
Wedding Attire
Probably the main distinction of a military wedding is that the bride and/or groom, as well as service members in the wedding party, usually wear their uniforms.
The type of uniform depends on the style of the wedding, the time of day, the season, and most importantly, the government-issued uniform manual:
Fathers of the bride or groom be active or retired officers, they may wear uniforms. So may mothers, although they usually choose to wear traditional mother-of-the-bride attire. Any non-military wedding-party members simply wear traditional wedding clothes of the same level of formality as those in uniform. Military guests (active or retired) may wear their uniforms or traditional formal attire.
For a black-tie affair, put “Mess dress uniform invited” on the invites to request that your guests come in uniform. For a semi-formal wedding, put either “Class A uniform invited” or “Service dress uniform invited”.
Jennifer my assistant here at The Lodge tied the knot last Saturday to John – A Royal Navy Officer.
How beautiful you looked on your wedding day Jen.
Jennifer’s Words
I would be lying to you if I told you that marrying a man in the military was an easy thing to do.
I married John because I cannot imagine the rest of my life without him, but the reality of it is, I will spend many years without him whilst he is deployed.
In the last 2 years, John has spent 490 days at sea on a submarine. Whilst he is away I get no contact and I don’t know where in the world he is.
To marry into the military there are sacrifices you have to make. You have to move away from your family and friends, you have to make a home in new countries, and you have accept that you will be lonely.
Planning our wedding was the most nerve racking thing I have ever done. Even on the morning of our wedding, John could have been called out to sea, it was just a risk that we had to take and thankfully it didn’t happen!
There are also positives to marrying military. I have become very strong and very independent. I have travelled out to the most amazing countries to see John and experienced food, culture, and met people that have seriously changed me as a person and made me grow.
But I cannot tell you the sheer joy and excitement that surrounds a homecoming. For 3 weeks before he returns I am buzzing, meeting up with the other wives to shop for “the homecoming dress”, the anticipation of the submarine coming over the horizon into view standing on the shore with a giant flag, screaming at the top of your lungs, hoping that he will hear you (knowing he probably won’t!). It makes the months and months of waiting for the return worth it. It isn’t just a submarine returning, it’s my husband, and he is worth the sacrifices.
Behind every strong soldier, there is an even stronger woman who stands by him, supports him and loves him with all her heart.