Military Wedding/FI in Cincinnati

KatyBug513

Hello all! I'm newly engaged, and planning a wedding in Cincinnati while my FI is stationed in Italy for the next 3 1/2 years. I was wondering if there were any other military brides planning or have planned a wedding in Cincinnati and what if any advice they offer to me.

I'm struggling with the major things, such as venue, because I won't know his leave dates until sometimes, 4-6 months before the month of July which is when I had planned on us getting married, July 2012. But seeing as they don't even know when they'll get leave in THIS coming July, how do I plan for something NEXT July?

I know I can ask around about military clauses but I don't even have a date to even start with to tell people or book with, it's rather frustrating and I'm sure going to be my biggest pain in planning all of this but such is the military life, I might as well get used to it!

Just wondering if anyone had any advice to offer about places you've used that were flexible, etc.

Thanks!!

TeamBaby

Hi there!  Congratulations!  My fiance and I are both in the Army- stationed in NC.  I see your FI is with the 173rd?  (My fiance was with them back in 04).  Our wedding is this April in NKY.  I understand what you're going through.    Here is some advice I will give you:

- Find out his deployment rotation schedule.  They won't give you specific dates, but a general time-frame should be easy to get. 

- Try to plan your wedding around a federal holiday (since we usually get 4-day weekends).  If his unit is not doing training, it shouldn't be an issue for him to get leave around that time.

2012 is still a long way off.  You can probably start planning this summer.  Your fiance's unit cannot approve leave this far in advance, but there is such thing as a long range training calendar and he should know by this summer if Jul 2012 is a good time.  Have him talk to his chain of command.  I don't know what his rank is, but if he's junior enlisted, he may have a harder time getting to talk to them.  (unfortunately).  It all depends on the climate of the unit and the leadership. 

Most vendors are understanding of your situation.  You can ask if they have a military clause.  It most likely won't be a full refund, but most vendors will allow you to shift your date if needed.  You might want to look into wedding insurance too.  And don't forget to ask for a military discount. 

And one more bit of advice- stay off the Military Brides board.  They're so incredibly snarky, it's sad.  They really don't know anymore than anyone else.  All they can do is tell about their experiences- and it's exactly that- THEIR experience and nothing more.  You're going to get more horror stories than anything else.  The ladies on this board are wonderful and very helpful.  Use them as much as you can. 

I hope this helps some.  Wedding planning is stressful enough without having all the military restrictions attached.  But hang in there, I think you'll find that the military issue isn't going to be as bad as you think. 

Congrats again and welcome! 

KatyBug513

Thank you so much! Yes, he is with the 173rd! He was just in Afghanistan, got back in November from being there for about a year, couldn't be more excited about that obviously.

Thank you for all the information, that will really help quite a bit. I don't think I have to worry about deployment since he just got back unless something crazy happened, which I understand is possible, but I think they have or are supposed to have quite a bit of down time before they are even allowed to deploy again.

I was wondering about that as well, planning around a Holiday as they get four day weekends quite a bit and obviously for holiday's as well. He did tell me that he would be able to probably figure out a better time frame for July of 2012 of when his leave would be 6 months ahead of then and he's a SGT, was promoted when he was in Afghanistan. I'll definitely have him ask around and see what he can find out, he's totally clueless when it comes to weddings and dates and planning, he was flabbergasted when I told him most people book venues a year in advance, LOL.

Yeah, I noticed that, I've only posted over on the military boards a bit but I've realized soon enough that everyone pushes what THEY did or THEY would want you to do onto you and have no open mind for others opinions or advice, lol.

Thank you again, so much for the advice, any little bit of it helps especially from someone who's going through it and understands a bit more than I do!

TeamBaby

No problem!  Feel free to PM me anytime if you have a question.  GL!

clearheavens

That's awesome you're in the military.  You should definitely use TeamBaby as a resource.  She's very helpful.

I do know that on certain holidays, European Bridal offers a free wedding dress for those in the military.  I don't know who is eligible.  Check that out, though!

TeamBaby

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_military-weddingfi-cincinnati?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:108Discussion:bc8cd720-6dd2-43b5-87b2-1ea2b1239c24Post:ddade7ec-909a-4494-aade-80a40641c953">Re: Military Wedding/FI in Cincinnati</a>:
[QUOTE]That's awesome you're in the military.  <strong>You should definitely use TeamBaby as a resource.  She's very helpful. :p</strong> I do know that on certain holidays, European Bridal offers a free wedding dress for those in the military.  I don't know who is eligible.  Check that out, though!
Posted by clearheavens[/QUOTE]


LOL You're so sweet.  But I would say the same about you Miss 1546 posts! LOL  ;)

txin1_19759230

Congrats!  My future son-in-law is in the military stationed in Colorado.  Seems like most vendors we have dealt with are willing to be flexible in the event of deployment and I've seen a few that offer military discounts.  I know Steve Bender (DJ) offers a military discount for sure.  It is tricky planning a military wedding, but you can do it!  Best wishes.

KatyBug513

Thanks all! I just wanted to clarify, I'm not in the military, my FI is. He's with the 173rd in Vicenza, Italy, he actually leaves to go back to Vicenza tomorrow .