Meaningful Military Wedding Celebration

From the bride: There were several details about our day that made it extra meaningful. The wedding dress detail is one of the most spectacular ones! I wore my mom's wedding dress, but had it designed and made into my dream wedding dress. I spent weeks and weeks with my seamstress as together we "redesigned" my dress out of such meaningful material. Cody is a submarine officer with the United States Navy and we felt it was appropriate to have a couple Navy details here and there. On each name card were gold wax seals with an anchor design at each seat.The groomsmen, all military, wore their uniforms, and participated in the ceremonial "sword arch" we walked through as we were introduced as Lt. and Mrs. Cody Stueve. At the end of the night on the dance floor, the swords came back out for the best round of limbo I have ever been a part of! But the most important detail...Cody made it home safe off the submarine only SIX DAYS before the wedding. That wasn't nerve-wracking at all!

We got married at a family friend's house under their beautiful tree in the front yard. Having all of the wedding events at a home, in one place, made it an intimate and fun celebration. The ceremony was in front of the house, cocktail hour in the pool area, and the reception was under a tent on their large driveway pad. Our signature drink, The Scout Fashioned, was named after our beloved husky Scout. He didn't get invited to the wedding as he loves people too much, but he was with us "in spirits" at the bar! My favorite wedding day moment would have to be walking down the aisle to Cody. We had been separated by many miles and many deployments and this was the moment we were face to face, about to commit our lives to each other and become one, and be with one another forever. The song two friends were singing (Sails, by Pat Barrett) sang "Here I am, Here you are", and here we were, seeing each other for the first time that day, about to be husband and wife. Groom favorite moment: "Seeing you walk down the aisle. I never thought that a woman could look that beautiful until I saw you standing there."

Advice for brides planning a wedding: decide what is most important to you, and do that thing fully! Spend your money on that thing, and sacrifice in the budget elsewhere. We KNEW we wanted more people we loved there, and for those people we love to enjoy themselves. So we focused on food, on more seats, on great music. We spent less on other things. If something else is what you dream of, go big, and focus on that! Second, it really is the best day and it is all about marrying this person you are committing to. Everything will come together, and as it does, just enjoy focusing on the sweetness of the day that you become husband and wife!

Grace and Cody’s Joy-Filled Wedding

Meaningful Military Wedding Celebration