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Casual and Military???

Clay&EmilyClay&Emily
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in Military Brides
Hello!  I have just recently become engaged to an amazing man in the US Army.  We are discussing our options for our wedding.  We are very interested in him wearing his Dress Blues and also having the Sabers present.  However, we are wanting a very simple and casual(ish) wedding with a low budget.  Does anyone have any ideas on how we can pull off the Military aspect and casual wedding without being tacky?!  Thank you so much in advance!!! =)
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Re: Casual and Military???

  • Beachy730Beachy730 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    TBH, I don't think this will work.  Dress uniforms are considered formal attire, so they would definitely not be fitting at a casual wedding.  But formal doesn't have to mean black tie affair and expensive.  
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  • Clay&EmilyClay&Emily
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Thank you for being honest!  I guess its not that we have to have casual, just more affordable formal haha.  Do you have and ideas?  Im definitely open to any suggestions as we were just engaged on Friday! 

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  • Beachy730Beachy730 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Many venues give discounts for Friday and Sunday weddings.  We had a Friday wedding because we had limited availability of dates, but after the wedding we were so happy that we had it on a Friday.  

    Also, your reception does not have to be a dinner.  You can save a lot of money by doing a lunchtime reception, or afternoon cake and punch reception.  Obviously the smaller your guest list the lower your food costs will be, so that is a big factor.  Also, go to bridal shows in your area since many companies raffle off their items or offer discounts.  We won 50% off our limo at a show, and saved $50 off of our DJ because we met him there.  

    My best advice is to first work on a guest list.  Once you have an idea of the size of your guest list, you can start looking into venues and seeing what your options are.  
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  • Sammy0709Sammy0709 member
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Comments 25 Love Its
    edited December 2011

    In addition to lunch being cheaper, you could also consider desserts and dancing for the reception.  My cousin did this for her wedding.  She had cookies (made by family), cake, and 2 varieties of punch at her reception.  It was a lot of fun and I don't think anyone minded that there wasn't a full dinner.  However, her ceremony was also at 6:00 so guests had the chance to eat before hand.

    ETA:  If I remember correctly, her invitation said "desserts and dancing to follow" rather than "reception to follow"

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  • Beachy730Beachy730 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Yes, if you do a cake and punch reception, or anything other than a standard dinner reception, you should definitely make not of that on the invitations.  As long as your reception isn't at a main meal hour you are fine not to serve a full meal.  Just make sure your guests are aware so they don't show up starving and leave early because they need to eat.
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  • birdie1020birdie1020
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hey there! Congratualtions, first of all!

    I went to a casual military wedding on New Year's Day and it worked pretty well. The groom is in the Army and wore his uniform, and the bride wore an tight but classy above-the-knee wedding dress (it's hard to describe!). They had a civil ceremony in his parent's backyard and rented chairs and tables for the reception inside the house. There was a beautiful fondant cake, lovely centerpieces, and a Mexican buffet. 

    I was skeptical about the wedding at first because it was so casual, but I really enjoyed myself! And it never once bothered me that the groom was in uniform in such a casual setting.

    Best of luck with your wedding!
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  • Clay&EmilyClay&Emily
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks so much for your ideas and thoughts!  What do you think about the groom wearing his uniform and the groomsmen wearing suits?  I feel like I am being soo annoying haha but I guess its a one time event so its justified ;)
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  • shan87shan87
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_casual-military?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:60bc7861-8b76-4f38-a881-4a6577b9bcd7Post:eba60a0d-6594-41b8-903b-ea50e46a11cc">Re: Casual and Military???</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks so much for your ideas and thoughts!  What do you think about the groom wearing his uniform and the groomsmen wearing suits?  I feel like I am being soo annoying haha but I guess its a one time event so its justified ;)
    Posted by Clay&Emily[/QUOTE]

    Completely acceptable. My FI is wearing his AF Mess Dress and the groomsmen are wearing white tuxes. Ushers in Mess Dress.
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  • Beachy730Beachy730 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Technically a dress uniform is the equivalent of a tux, but a think a nice dress suit would be completely fine.  
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  • birdie1020birdie1020
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ditto the other two above me :) If you want another mental image, my fiance was a groomsman at the wedding I described above and he wore a black suit with a grey dress shirt and a very nice tie (he's not in the Marines yet so he didn't have a uniform to wear). The other groomsman wore something similar, although I believe it was grey. The bridesmaids wore short red dresses, and once again, I think everyone looked great!

    And you are not being annoying at all!! :)
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  • SarahP787SarahP787
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    What a good question! My Fi has been pushing for me to keep things simple and casual, and we're considering a lunchtime reception - but we'd still like him and the groomsmen who are in the Army to be able to wear their Class A's. I've been trying to visualize how casual we could get without making the uniforms look out of place!

    It's good to hear other people think suits (as opposed to tuxes) on the civilian men would be OK! I think we'll probably go that route too. Fi says they'll probably all take their jackets off for the reception anyway, which will tone down the formality.
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  • shortie4311shortie4311
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hi! Congrats to you
    I'm having a less formal semi military wedding. My FI is in the Air Force so to keep it 'less formal' he will be wearing his Dress blues(not Mess Dress) for the ceremony and formal WP pictures. For the reception he will change into a tux. 
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  • iluvmy0341iluvmy0341
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Most people aren't going to wear jeans to a wedding, so honestly wouldn't specify a dress code on the invitation. When people call, just explain that it's not black tie, but we would like something better than blue jeans! You can rent the sabers from the Chaplain I believe on post. I think that's where my friend got theirs for their USMC wedding. Otherwise, those are expensive to buy! But! Buying your husband his own, would be a cute groom's gift :-)
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  • iluvmy0341iluvmy0341
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011

    I went to a "casual military wedding" in December. The groom and 1 of his groomsmen wore their uniforms, the rest wore tuxes. The guests just wore anything dressy.

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