I think some congrats are due since you found this page! As a 2023 bride myself, I totally get all the feels from the anticipation of marrying your best friend!! Weddings and the planning process have changed a lot post-2020, so I am here to give you the rundown on everything you need to know for your military wedding. I am so excited for this next stage of life and thought I’d share a little bit about my wedding planning journey as well as some tips & tricks for any of you future brides out there!
Booking Your Venue
This should be the first step in your wedding planning process. I started my search about 10 months out from our wedding date and let me tell you, wedding venues are booking up fast! I toured many different wedding venues and began to feel discouraged and like I had to rush to pick something. Nothing felt like it was going to be “perfect”. This is such a normal feeling! I ended up choosing a place that was on my heart the whole time and was basically right in front of my face! When you find the right place, you will know it! Remember, it is not about the place, but about the people that fill the place!
Booking Your Vendors
Now that you’ve booked your venue, it’s time to start researching vendors for the big day! It can be overwhelming figuring out what vendors you need/want, so here’s a list of vendors that I have booked so far to hopefully help you out!
Some vendors to consider:
- Wedding planner
- Hair & makeup artists
- Florist
- Event rental company
- Entertainment (DJ, violinists, band, singers, etc.)
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Stationer
- Cake
- Catering
- Officiant
I found most of my vendors on Instagram. The vendors’ Instagram page is basically a portfolio their work, so it makes it so easy to decide if they are able to bring your dreams to life!
Finding Your Dress
Okay, on to one of my favorite parts! Dress shopping was such a blast! I went to two stores and ended up choosing the first gown I tried on at the second store! Make sure you research the stores you are planning on booking appointments at. It’s important that they have great ratings and good reviews. You want to try on dresses surrounded by people who help you feel relaxed, excited, and beautiful! This means the bridal stylists as well as the friends/family you bring along with you! Bring people who are there to lift you up and encourage you!
Helpful Tools
These tools have been lifesavers throughout my wedding planning process!
- Pinterest: Pinterest is seriously the best platform to use when dreaming up your wedding vision! I created a main board titled “Our Wedding” and added subcategories within the board for florals, bridal style, cake, hair & makeup, details, etc.! I have shown my saved pins to just about all my vendors to help them see my vision. Most vendors will actually ask you to send your Pinterest link to them so they can keep up with all of your ideas.
- Microsoft Excel: We have used Excel for our wedding budget, and it has been the perfect tool to help us keep track of all of the expenses from the venue down to the small details!
- Microsoft PowerPoint: Okay this one may be a little type A…lol! I created a PowerPoint slideshow for my “bridal style”. I have a slide for each event like my bridal shower, bachelorette trip, rehearsal dinner, etc. This makes it easy for me to keep track of different dresses, shoes, purses, and accessories that I love for each occasion. I am then able to go back through the slides and choose my favorite outfit for each event! It’s kind of like creating a vision/mood board for your bridal style!
- Zola: I used Zola to create my wedding website and registry. Zola makes it so easy to design a beautiful website that includes all of the important information for your guests. You can allow your guests to RSVP on Zola as well!
Wedding Shops I’ve Been Loving
- For the Details: Etsy is full of personalization options. If you are looking to purchase personalized napkins, cups, neon signs, wax seals, cocktail signs, or seriously anything else you might think of, I bet you Etsy has it! They also have beautiful shoe, jewelry, and veil options!
- Outfits & Accessories: Revolve, Lulus, 12th Tribe, Abercrombie, House of CB, Meshki
- Shoes: Billini, Badgley Mischka, Gianni Bini, Steve Madden, Dolce Vita
Incorporating the Military into Your Wedding:
If you are thinking of adding some military touches to your wedding, here are some cute ideas!
- Challenge Coin Favors: Give each of your guests a personalized challenge coin from your wedding day! You could add your wedding date, names, and wedding venue on the coin for an extra special touch. These were given as wedding favors at a wedding I attended, and I thought it was such a great idea!
- Paper Airplane Exit: As you and your loved one make your grand exit, instead of your guests throwing rose petals or holding sparklers, have them throw paper airplanes! I saw this idea on Pinterest and the photos turned out so awesome! Such a unique idea!
- Old Badge: Sow an old badge or nametag from your partner’s uniform underneath your wedding dress. This is such a special touch and such a cute photo op!
- Grooms Cake: Dedicate your groom’s cake to the military! There are such great military cake design ideas on Pinterest if you like this idea.
The Most Important Tip of All…
It is SO important to remind yourself throughout this process that this day is not about how perfect your venue is, how many flowers you have or how good your hair looks. This day is about you and the love of your life joining together and committing to spending forever together! This day is about your love! I have had to remind myself of this so many times when I feel like things aren’t turning out the way I had always dreamed they would. The only thing that truly matters is walking down the aisle and seeing my fiancé standing there with tears in his eyes and then committing to those vows and to each other in front of God, our friends, and our family. When you’re feeling stressed from all the planning, take a break and remember what this day is really all about.
Looking for tips on how to plan a long-distance military wedding? Check out this posts here!
Meet Olivia
Hi everyone! I’m Olivia and I’m a last-semester senior at Florida State University and a 2023 bride-to-be! After my fiancé’s commissioning, and both of our graduations (finally, hooray!), we will be tying the knot in June at the same exact place we met in Destin, Florida.
