Vanessa L. Baldwin
As a wedding consultant, who specializes in military weddings, I hear brides, who are trying to plan military weddings, lament about the lack of information available about military weddings. Brides are marrying later and are better educated. Even if they are hiring a wedding consultant to plan a military wedding, the brides still want to know as much as possible. Most wedding planning and etiquette books briefly address military weddings, but not to the satisfaction of most military brides. There are situations that face the bride or groom marrying a military person that a civilian couple doesn’t always have to face. In addition to embarking on a new journey as a married couple, the military wedding is the beginning of a whole new way of life and culture. A severe case of culture shock may manifest once the new military spouse arrives at the spouse’s duty location. Welcome to the brave new world of military jargon, acronyms, ID cards, wives’ clubs, customs and courtesies, personnel reassignments, deployments and on and on. Becoming a military spouse is also an exciting adventure--full of new and exotic places, as well as challenges that will test the foundation of your marriage. Or, it will strengthen your partnership as husband and wife, bound by the fondest memories of shared experiences, adventures and challenges conquered. It’s enough to make a strong person weak in the knees. It’s not a life for the faint of heart. So, this book, The Military Wedding, has been written to make the experience less harrowing and more enjoyable. This book is mainly written for the civilian bride marrying a military groom, but I will try not to overlook the civilian groom marrying a military woman and the military bride and groom. A few paragraphs, as found in most books, won’t answer your questions. Consider this your military wedding planning manual or special operating instruction to supplement your main wedding planning guide. 3
