Swords

lpwhit · September 2011

If we want to do the swords at the ceremony, who do we call? I think someone told me the honor guard does it but I don't know how to contact them. I know I have a ways to go before the ceremony but I just want to jot down the info in my planner so I can have it handy.

Also, is there a difference between officer and enlisted? Like if it's an officer getting married, do the guys with the swords have to be officers or not? I hope this isn't a dumb question but I've never been to a military wedding before.

amh04 · September 2011

I don't think Enlisted do the swords - I believe that is just an Officer thing - then again this might vary branch to branch. I'd have your FI talk to his command - they would have the information, or I would imagine they would.

calindi · September 2011

Only Officers and NCO's qualify for an arch of swords. I'm not sure the qualifications for who can be in the arch, but I do know that it's restricted to weddings for O's and NCO's.

Reach out to a local reserve unit to see if they'll supply people for the arch of swords. A lot of people just have their guests who are military do it.

Speaking of that, anyone ever heard of a multi-branch arch? FI's good friend is a Captain in the Army, and it just occured to me to ask, since we've already told his Marine buddies that we'd like them to take part in the arch.

AmandaSC1988 · September 2011

Who do you call? ....Probably your FI. No seriously, many times it is the grooms friends, co-workers in his command, or people that generally know the guy. (At least the times I have seen it done) I don't know where they got the swords...some officers have them, others I think borrow them from someone else...

I know it varies from branch to branch. on who can do it. I know enlisted in the Navy do not get the arch....Only Officers...I'm pretty sure some of the branches do it for both. (don't quote me on that one...) Your FI should know....

kyrgyzstan · September 2011

Amanda, LOL.

Cal, I was going to have a Soldier in ours, but she ended up not being able to come. I have definitely seen USNA grads with both USN and USMC, I think it looks great!

crownsuperstar · September 2011

The groomsmen were the guys in the saber arch for our wedding. I believe everyone else is right, it is reserved for Os and NCOs.

calindi · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_swords?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:03721d22-3660-4e84-a281-25672ba742aePost:fd0d1a2f-5c24-4c86-8f84-8b451e353c29">Re: Swords</a>:
[QUOTE]Amanda, LOL. Cal, I was going to have a Soldier in ours, but she ended up not being able to come. I have definitely seen USNA grads with both USN and USMC, I think it looks great!
Posted by WishIcouldbeinthe'stan[/QUOTE]

Good to know! I know it would mean a lot to FI if the Army Captain was in the arch of swords. Dunno if he can make it to the wedding (right now he's got twin 2 year olds and a brand new baby), but if he's there I'm sure he'd love to be a part of that.

firsttimersluck · September 2011

Calindi we were going to have Marines, Army, and Navy in our sword arch (when we were planning on having one). Do it. I think it looks great, I don't think there is any rule for or against it, and it honors more than just your particular branch which is always nice

Of course there's restriction on WHO is in the arch, but as far as branches go, nope.

lpwhit · September 2011

He is an officer so we are good to go there. Not many of his friends will be able to come because most of them are in the same squadron so they can't all take off the same day. My fiancé had no idea where to start with asking about the swords so that is why I thought I would ask you ladies.

calindi · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_swords?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:03721d22-3660-4e84-a281-25672ba742aePost:9797ec88-a1da-4f12-bcd0-4b6e2cdd5812">Re: Swords</a>:
[QUOTE]He is an officer so we are good to go there. Not many of his friends will be able to come because most of them are in the same squadron so they can't all take off the same day. My fiancé had no idea where to start with asking about the swords so that is why I thought I would ask you ladies.
Posted by lpwhit[/QUOTE]

"Good to go" - such a Marine-ism <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" />

Definitely ask a local reserve group, or if there's a base nearby. Your FI should be able to ask his chain of command to see if they can refer him to anyone close to where you're getting married.

TeamBaby · September 2011

It is only for Officers and NCOs. As for who you can call? If you guys don't have military friends who can do, there is no one you can call. Honor Guards typically don't do them. Honor Guards are for formal ceremonies (generally only involving carrying the Colors for certain events or for participating in funeral details for vets), not for weddings. You'd be wasting your time (and theirs) if you called random posts or reserve units asking their Honor Guards for help.

In my 15 years in the Army, I've only known person who actually was able to make the arch happen- he asked all his friends, and he bought all their swords for them. Good luck with finding that many people who actually own swords/sabers. I don't know of any unit that would even have them either. Except maybe the Old Guard in Arlington, VA.

firsttimersluck · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_swords?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:03721d22-3660-4e84-a281-25672ba742aePost:82390cf2-f5b9-4714-88a7-80c84368b058">Re: Swords</a>:
[QUOTE]It is only for Officers and NCOs. As for who you can call? If you guys don't have military friends who can do, there is no one you can call. Honor Guards typically don't do them. Honor Guards are for formal ceremonies (generally only involving carrying the Colors for certain events or for participating in funeral details for vets), not for weddings. You'd be wasting your time (and theirs) if you called random posts or reserve units asking their Honor Guards for help. <strong>In my 15 years in the Army, I've only known person who actually was able to make the arch happen</strong>- he asked all his friends, and he bought all their swords for them. Good luck with finding that many people who actually own swords/sabers. I don't know of any unit that would even have them either. Except maybe the Old Guard in Arlington, VA. :/
Posted by TeamBaby[/QUOTE]

That surprises me. We are pretty much <em>the only couple</em> in our squadron that WON'T having a sword arch.. mainly because there just is no good place to do it at our venue.
Also, those swords are freakin' expensive so that was very nice of your friend to buy all of those things!!

crownsuperstar · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_swords?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:03721d22-3660-4e84-a281-25672ba742aePost:82390cf2-f5b9-4714-88a7-80c84368b058">Re: Swords</a>:
[QUOTE]It is only for Officers and NCOs. As for who you can call? If you guys don't have military friends who can do, there is no one you can call. Honor Guards typically don't do them. Honor Guards are for formal ceremonies (generally only involving carrying the Colors for certain events or for participating in funeral details for vets), not for weddings. You'd be wasting your time (and theirs) if you called random posts or reserve units asking their Honor Guards for help. In my 15 years in the Army, I've only known person who actually was able to make the arch happen- he asked all his friends, and he bought all their swords for them. Good luck with finding that many people who actually own swords/sabers. I don't know of any unit that would even have them either. Except maybe the Old Guard in Arlington, VA. :/
Posted by TeamBaby[/QUOTE]

We ran into the same thing with ours. When I asked the honor guards they nicely said "We can do funerals ma'ma." We even had a hard time finding them on post. We ended up buying replicas for the guys. The real things are way to expensive. Since none of them had one. I even work at a college and the ROTC department said they wished they could help with the sabers but they are not allowed have "weapons" on campus any more. They actually said they practice with wooden rifles.

Good luck!

calindi · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_swords?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:03721d22-3660-4e84-a281-25672ba742aePost:82390cf2-f5b9-4714-88a7-80c84368b058">Re: Swords</a>:
[QUOTE]It is only for Officers and NCOs. As for who you can call? If you guys don't have military friends who can do, there is no one you can call. Honor Guards typically don't do them. Honor Guards are for formal ceremonies (generally only involving carrying the Colors for certain events or for participating in funeral details for vets), not for weddings. You'd be wasting your time (and theirs) if you called random posts or reserve units asking their Honor Guards for help. In my 15 years in the Army, I've only known person who actually was able to make the arch happen- he asked all his friends, and he bought all their swords for them. Good luck with finding that many people who actually own swords/sabers. I don't know of any unit that would even have them either. Except maybe the Old Guard in Arlington, VA. :/
Posted by TeamBaby[/QUOTE]

I think in the Marines it's a bit different. I know 4 different people to have arches this summer, 2 of those had friends do it and 2 asked for volunteers from a local unit. And almost all of the Officers I know have their swords.

TeamBaby · September 2011

For people who have friends who've been in the military a while, it might be different. Career officers would definitely be more likely to own them. And possibly senior NCOs since they may have been given one as a gift from a unit. I can't speak on any other branch besides Army, but some other branches (ie Marines) are definitely more into the ceremonial stuff than we are. It's just their culture. With today's OPTEMPO the Army is definitely falling behind on the traditional ceremonial stuff we used to do "pre 9/11." We are very proficient with funerals and memorial ceremonies though.

When I was still enlisted and recruiting out in Portland, we used to get those calls asking us to do the arch for weddings and it used to annoy the hell out of me.

YoungDuo · September 2011

It should be your FI's responsibility get archers. My FI asked around his unit to get soldiers for our arch. He bought swords for them. He is also paying for their transportation from the base to our town and their hotel rooms for the night.

kyrgyzstan · September 2011

We had one, but I'm still grumpy at the Sergeants who didn't know better than to take their bloody sunglasses off.

All our guys were H's coworkers.

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