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Military uniform for marine Sgt. |
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My fiancé is currently a Sgt. in
the United States Marine Corps but he will be retiring from active
duty this September, our wedding is not until next spring... He
will be on inactive service. So what does he wear during the
wedding? does he wear traditional civilian attire or would he wear
his uniform because he is retired?
I know that the most important thing about the uniform code is
that if you wear a uniform, you wear the entire official uniform--
***with nothing added and nothing omitted***. No
boutonnière, no dress shirt, nothing that would not be worn to any
military occasion. You don't try
to match the wedding colors or anything with even a single piece
of ribbon. (Most military men I know wouldn't consider any change
to their
uniforms, anyway, but it's an important issue to make sure people
are clear about.)
I wasn't sure, however, about the issues of rank and
active/retired status. My favorite wedding etiquette book
was a bit vague on this issue, too. In "You and Your Wedding",
Winifred Gray states:
"A military wedding may be held when the groom is a commissioned
officer in the regularly Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force or
Coast Guard-- or is he is a reserve officer on active duty with
any of the above forces. Enlisted men in the Navy may also have a
formal military ceremony using rifles (instead of swords) for the
arch."
She writes more about enlisted men:
"The arch of swords or sabers is never used at an enlisted man's
wedding.... An enlisted man may be married in uniform or (unless
regulations forbid) may wear civilian clothes. "
From this I wasn't sure about what a sergeant retired in good
standing would do. This author did clearly state that in
most cases, an officer can decide to have a non-military wedding,
and the quote above said that enlisted men, in most cases can
choose to wear civilian clothes. However, it didn't seem to cover
who could/couldn't wear a uniform.
I forwarded your question to Glenna Tooman, another ForeverWed
expert who I know has some military wedding experience, and she
sent the following information for you....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
From my experience, because the groom is still officially a member
of the service, whether inactive or retired, he
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should be able to wear his uniform, just like retired veterans can
wear theirs. My husband and my daughter-in-law's father are
both retired Air Force with the same rank, so our daughter-in-law
wanted both of them to wear their uniforms at her wedding to our
son. Her dad gave her away and my husband was our son's best
man.
...Actually, a sergeant is the highest level of enlisted
non-commissioned rank, I did some brief searching on the web
about only officers wearing uniforms. The only mention of it
was on a British page. All of the U.S. sites didn't include
a mention of the rank of the groom, so I would assume that anyone
in good standing in a branch of the military could wear a uniform
for his wedding.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Frankly, if it was me, I would look into this with the
older/higher-ranking military personnel and./or their families
while your fiancé is still on active duty, just to be clear on
what the regulations would be for his particular rank in his
branch of the service. They should know all the details-- or
have documentation to refer to-- so that you will know exactly
what's appropriate.
Best wishes to you both!!!
Sara Ambarian --Staff expert-- Foreverwed.com
author of "A Bride's Touch: A Handbook of Wedding Personality and
Inspiration"/
creative consultant/custom bridal designer
mailto:sara@foreverwed.com
For more wedding information:
http://www.foreverwed.com/~sara
The following information was submitted by Sgt
Harold J. Grunenwald III, USMC concerning Marine Corps weddings.
Each point concerns only the Marine Corp for Marines Wedding
Protocol:
1. You are correct that adornments will not be added to the
uniform, aside from Medals, Ribbons, and Badges that the
individual rates (i.e. deserves) to wear.
2. Any member of the Armed Forces can have a Military wedding and
rate to wear their uniforms, be they Commissioned Officer, Warrant
Officer, or Enlisted on Active Duty or Active Reserve.
Retired Personnel (after 20 or more years of service), may also
wear their uniforms. Inactive Reserve (after serving their
initial 4 on Active duty, they have 4 more years on "Inactive
Reserve"; basically a civilian except that once a year for 4 years
you check in with a reserve station.
3. Any member of the Marine Corps, Officer or Enlisted may have a
Sword Detail (aka Arch of Swords) in their wedding.
4. In responce to the young lady's question about her Fiance, He
may not wear the uniform if he is not on Active Duty, or Active
Reserve. If this couple finds that they're plans have changed,
and he finds himself on Active Duty or Active Reserve, he may have
a Sword Detail.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sgt Harold J. Grunenwald III, USMC
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