Wedding By - Military Cake Toppers

Reprint from
ArmyTimes
May 18, 2009
Œ
May 18, 2009
OPERATION:
www.armytimes.com
Wedding
A guide to planning the perfect military nuptials
$3.25
A cheap wedding that looks anything but
By Karen Jowers
[email protected]
7
eddings cost money — a lot of money. But no wedding is worth
hocking your future. As tempting as it may be to be extravagant
on every detail, don’t deplete your life savings, and above all,
don’t go into debt.
“Get back to basics. The idea is that people are celebrating, with you,
the beginning of your life together,” said Marine wife Cameron Lilley, a
wedding planner in San Diego. “Don’t get lost in the details. The guests
won’t care whether the chairs at the reception are padded or not. They’ll
remember you and your spouse and the love they saw.”
Start by drawing up a budget, Lilley said. Take the amount of money
you think you’re going to spend, and allot it to different areas. Lilley’s
tips for shaving your costs:
• Wedding dress. Try eBay. Get lots of detailed pictures and buy through
PayPal as backup if the dress doesn’t arrive in the guaranteed condition.
• Flowers. Go to a wholesale florist or a flower importer, where you may
find cheaper flowers. Put the arrangements together yourself or find a
friend who is talented at arranging.
• Invitations. Order online. You might visit a local stationery store first
to see types of paper, then find something similar online. Don’t forget
the postage. Rather than have guests RSVP, set up a wedding Web site
so they can respond online. Lilley said she and her husband posted information on their wedding site about special deals at hotels for their outof-town guests. Examples: www.weddingchannel.com and
www.weddingwindow.com.
• Photographer. Try to find one who will agree to shoot your wedding
and put the images on a CD. You can upload these to Web sites for printing
and reduce costs for photos and wedding books.
• Reception food and drink. One alternative is food stations with heavy
appetizers. Or consider a later wedding with an all-dessert reception.
Lilley said one bride offered homemade lemonade and sun tea and champagne at her garden wedding and reception in the late morning, avoiding
the cost of liquor and mixers.
• Wedding cake. These usually cost about $10 per slice per guest. Do you
have a baker friend who could give you a discount? Or consider something
different — one bride and groom served cookies and milk, Lilley said.
• Venue. Pick venues in your price range that fit the feeling of the wedding. Check installations in your area for places to have your wedding
and/or reception. Military clubs often offer good deals on receptions.
• Music. You can spend thousands on a band or a DJ. Or you could invest
in a nice speaker system, but an iPod and make your own playlist.
• Party favors. Lilley suggests writing a note to guests expressing your
appreciation that they celebrated with you on your special day, rolling it
up and tying it with a bit of ribbon. “You can skimp on almost any part, as
long as you take the time to personalize,” Lilley said. “The best way is
not to get fixated on the traditional,” she said. “Feel free to reinvent the
wedding to suit your needs.”
Marine Corps Sgt. Jason Lilley and Cameron Driscoll chose to have a military wedding.
Traditions abound for military weddings
By Nikole Pegues
[email protected]
7
hen it comes to a military wedding, there’s no standard operating procedure. What separates a civilian wedding from a military-centric wedding really comes down to two things: uniforms and an arch
of sabers or swords.
Additional details, while not necessarily a part of a specific tradition, can add touches and flourishes of
military service. For example, guests can be given custom-made dog tags with the bride’s and groom’s
names imprinted on them. Camouflage napkins and placemats can adorn the dining tables. Custom-made
cake-toppers can be detailed enough to show your medals and ribbons. The list goes on.
Here are some things you can do to make your wedding military and service-specific:
• Enlist the help of service members as ushers and groomsmen. Ask them to wear their dress uniforms;
if the wedding party is made up of men and women from different service branches, they should wear their
appropriate dress uniforms.
• The arch of sabers or swords should be set up just outside the chapel door. The bride and groom will
emerge after the ceremony and walk underneath the arch. Since sabers and swords are weapons, they cannot
be drawn inside the church or chapel without permission. Groomsmen or ushers can make the arch, or you
can hire an arch team. Only the bride and groom should walk under the arch.
• The last saber-bearers usually lower their sabers, blocking the couple’s path until they kiss. The saberbearer closest to the bride gives her a light swat on the bottom as she passes through the last part of the arch
and says, “Welcome to the [branch of service].” If the bride is the service member, the swat is usually left out.
• It is a courtesy to send an invitation to the service member’s commander and spouse.
• Seating at the ceremony and reception should go by rank, with the commander and any other senior
officers sitting beside or directly behind the family. If the member’s parents cannot attend, the commander
and spouse may sit in their place.
• To add to the military feel, a chaplain can be substituted for personal clergy.
• Include on the invitation the rank of any wedding participants.
• Instead of using a normal cake cutter, couples can use the groom’s saber or sword. The groom hands
the saber to the bride, places his right hand over hers and together the couple slices the bottom tier of the
cake. (Don’t forget to clean the blade before you stick it back into the scabbard!)
• Play the service song of the bride or groom for the recessional. To find out about specific traditions and
protocols for your branch of service, contact your chaplain, visit the on-base chapel or consult a professional
military wedding planner. A wealth of books, including “The Military Wedding” by Vanessa Baldwin, describe
military traditions in further detail.
© Army Times Publishing Co.