Photo By Janecze Wright | Complete with refreshments in the waiting area, volunteers catered to small groups to...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD -- Military life often causes couples to miss out on some of the festivities associated with celebrating their union. Heather Banner, Operation Deploy Your Dress Coordinator and Shop Manager, aims to remedy that, one dress at a time.
Hosted by the Fort Hood Spouses’ Club, the “Love is in the Air” event provided a unique opportunity for military spouses to re-create some of the wedding traditions they may have missed out on.
Banner explained that she wanted to find a fun way to support the community and get more dresses, so she reached out to Operation Deploy Your Dress National and the organization worked with bridal boutiques to get brand new wedding dresses.
Banner then contacted local community partners to provide free services such as photo sessions, hair styling and makeup.
She knows first-hand how it feels to postpone nuptials due to deployments, training or travel, and used her own personal experience as inspiration to help other military wives.
“We didn’t do a wedding until two years after we were married, which I think it’s a common story,” Banner surmised. “You meet so many military families that either didn’t do it initially because their spouse all of a sudden got deployment orders or military life happened.”
The event is part of the ODYD initiative to provide military ID card holders, dependents, spouses, veterans and active-duty Soldiers with free apparel and accessories every calendar year.
But this occasion was all about the brides. Spouses were treated to a unique experience that rivaled the famous “Say Yes to the Dress” television show.
Complete with refreshments in the waiting area, volunteers catered to small groups to ensure each received the personal attention they deserved. Wives turned and twirled to view every angle as they tried on an assortment of gowns. For some, it was love at first dress.
After Jessica Stevens saw herself in a sleeveless fit and flair with lace overlay, she knew her search was over. She explained that she has been married to her husband Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anthony Stevens, III Armored Corps, for almost 11 years and it has been difficult to find the right time to capture the moment.
“This is a really great opportunity to actually have wedding pictures, as well as having some memories to show our children,” she said. “With everything Fort Hood does, I think it’s very family oriented, supporting these spouses especially. I think this is the best I’ve ever seen to support the military community.”
Jessica Rivas met her husband Staff Sgt. Willie Rivas in high school. She hopes to wear her ivory gown with beaded embellishments and lace in a small ceremony next year. “Just to find a beautiful wedding dress to hopefully fulfill that wedding that we would like to have, along with having beautiful pictures to cherish with our family, friends and our children, it just would mean a lot to us,” she expressed.
No wedding ensemble is complete without accessories and Angelica Lozano took the opportunity to find something blue in the form of satin heels accented with rhinestones. “I wanted to have like a real wedding moment, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to find the dress, the shoes, the picture moments,” she expressed. “I didn’t think that I would have this moment and thanks to Fort Hood, I will.”
Desiray Ramey and Spc. Mark Ramey, 1st Cavalry Division, never had a wedding. She is planning to wear her white, trumpet style gown with lace overlay to their five-year anniversary celebration. She conveyed that the event allowed her to re-create something special and get to know other spouses.
“I think it’s great because some spouses don’t have an opportunity to get out, they don’t know what to do, it’s hard to make friends in the military community,” she explained. “So, I think this is a great event to be able to socialize at and to get something out of it. You get to keep those memories forever. Thank you, Fort Hood Spouses Club.”
“This is a significant improvement in quality of life,” Capt. Jacob Barney, 1st Cav. Div., said about the opportunity for his wife, Ellora Barney, to take wedding photos. “(Fort Hood Spouses Club) keep doing what you’re doing. Taking care of Soldiers is extremely important. The fact that everyone’s making this a reality is amazing.”
Banner said the response to the event has been amazing and she’s excited about what’s to come.
“I’m just really appreciative of the people who registered and I’m really excited that we get to support them with this and I hope it becomes an annual event for us,” she conveyed. “I think the sky’s the limit and I’m really excited to see how we can make this even better for next year.”
Visit https://fhsc.wildapricot.org/ for information on Fort Hood Spouses’ Club events.
· Editor’s note: See B4 to read more about the ODYD organization.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.07.2024 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 440951 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 6 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Spouses ‘say yes to the dress’ at unique event, by Janecze Wright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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