Saber Arch

bostonviolet82 · January 2012

My FI is an officer in the Army. We debating if we want a Saber Arch as we walk out of the church. He's unsure of how we find the people to hold the Sabers, there will be very few if any Army guys at our wedding due to our limited guest list and very large family. Does anyone know how to arrange this?

Thanks!

crownsuperstar · January 2012

The guys in the Saber Arch at our wedding are guys that H knows and they were part of the wedding party. Good luck and welcome to the board.

iluvmytxrgr · January 2012

It is usually friends or coworkers of the SM who do the arch.

curlyfrymsu · January 2012

My FI and I opted out of a saber arch - but one of our friends asked around his unit for volunteers to help out and got plenty of volunteers

SamiJoeB · January 2012

Hopefully Calindi will post about her Fi's recent experience with this!!

bostonviolet82 · January 2012

Darn I was hoping there was some group we could ask. FI is at Ft. Drum and our wedding will be in IL. It's during summer block leave so there will be very few if any other SM's there.

crownsuperstar · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_saber-arch?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:50449383-9ea4-4c9e-a52f-ea8ac63b99cePost:96f88e5f-0093-46ad-9103-4b7221dd6df4">Re: Saber Arch</a>:
[QUOTE]Hopefully Calindi will post about her Fi's recent experience with this!!
Posted by SamiJoeB[/QUOTE]

I thought the same thing too. Great minds I say!

firsttimersluck · January 2012

No group that specifically does it. You usually have guys in the unit do it for you, but if they are young officers I doubt they have sabers unless they went to the academy (and those suckers are NOT cheap).

You can also ask your local JROTC/ROTC (high school/college) to see if they could be willing to help you out. They have a rack of sabers for special events and things....

Everyone in our squadron was really shocked that we didn't do the saber arch thing, but had we, we would have just had the academy guys do it for us...

calindi · January 2012

Yeah... if they aren't friends and already guests at the wedding, it can be a bit awkward. As the ladies said, my FI was asked recently to participate in an arch of swords for an acquaintance's wedding. They invited 6 guys, 2 of whom they barely knew (as in the groom had met a few times) and the other 4 were invited per a mass email to a local branch. So if you're desperate to have it, there's that. They sent out a mass email to the whole local branch, telling them that they could get a free dinner and open bar for them and a date if they attended this wedding.

Because they guys didn't know each other, organization for staging the arch was annoying and a big hassle. They all showed up an hour before the wedding and planned and practiced the arch, only to find out about 10 minutes before the wedding that the bride & groom wanted it somewhere else so they had to start from scratch.

The guys felt like being there wasn't so much welcoming the couple to the military family (as it's supposed to be) and more about being a showpiece for the bride to have pictures of later. If your friends do it, then it's fun and a nice tradition. If strangers do it, it's a photo op and makes everyone feel awkward.

Thus in summary, if it isn't friends who will be doing the arch, I'd highly recommend against doing it.

kyrgyzstan · January 2012

H's coworkers did it.

bmejenn · January 2012

My H's coworkers did it and we borrowed the sabers from the honor guard. Maybe the honor guard at your local base would be willing to do it?

calindi · January 2012

Yeah, as others said, my FI was asked to be part of an arch of swords recently. I'd really recommend that if it isn't friends doing it, don't bother.

This guy had just joined, didn't know anyone really well, so he asked two acquaintances and had an email blast sent out at a local base asking for volunteers. My FI was one of the acquaintances - they had met a few times, but certainly weren't friends. It was painfully awkward. None of the guys particpating knew each other, and none of them knew what the bride & groom had in mind for where it should be, so they planned the arch in one place only to find out 10 minutes before the ceremony that the groom wanted it somewhere else, so they had to re-plan.

It felt like, since the arch was done by strangers, that it was done for pictures rather than the meaning. It was staged and felt phony. I felt awkard for the couple, to be honest. It was forced, and it was just a photo op. I cringed watching it. All the guys joked all evening about how awkward it was to be a 'guest of honor' at someone's wedding that they didn't even know. It wasn't a big wedding, either - 70 people, and 10 of those were military guys and their spouses who didn't even know the bride & groom.

When it's friends, it's meant to be a "welcome to the military family" type thing. When it's strangers, it doesn't have the same effect, in my opinion.

In summary, if it isn't friends doing it, I'd highly recommend skipping it.

crownsuperstar · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_saber-arch?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:50449383-9ea4-4c9e-a52f-ea8ac63b99cePost:8798f34a-b8fb-463a-beab-e02221ea3426">Re: Saber Arch</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, as others said, my FI was asked to be part of an arch of swords recently. I'd really recommend that if it isn't friends doing it, don't bother. This guy had just joined, didn't know anyone really well, so he asked two acquaintances and had an email blast sent out at a local base asking for volunteers. My FI was one of the acquaintances - they had met a few times, but certainly weren't friends. It was painfully awkward. None of the guys particpating knew each other, and none of them knew what the bride & groom had in mind for where it should be, so they planned the arch in one place only to find out 10 minutes before the ceremony that the groom wanted it somewhere else, so they had to re-plan. It felt like, since the arch was done by strangers, that it was done for pictures rather than the meaning. It was staged and felt phony. I felt awkard for the couple, to be honest. It was forced, and it was just a photo op. I cringed watching it. All the guys joked all evening about how awkward it was to be a 'guest of honor' at someone's wedding that they didn't even know. It wasn't a big wedding, either - 70 people, and 10 of those were military guys and their spouses who didn't even know the bride & groom. When it's friends, it's meant to be a "welcome to the military family" type thing. When it's strangers, it doesn't have the same effect, in my opinion. In summary, if it isn't friends doing it, I'd highly recommend skipping it.
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

Ok why is the knot not letting me bold but I totally agree with Cal's last few statements. It is more meaningful if they are friends fo the bride/groom.

SamiJoeB · January 2012

I knew C would be able to say it with more tact.. I was afraid I would come off as b!tchy..

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