anyone honoring the military at their wedding?

Hmmm.a moment of silence might be too much of a downer, but even just a shout out at the reception and mention in the programs would be nice, or even donating to a military cause in leiu of favors?

I like the donations is lieu of favors idea. That has been put out there several times for other reasons. I think you will get a lot of "well isnt that nice" comments and everyone can remember everyone they know in the military in their own way with out putting any kind of downer on the event itself. I would also consider setting up a kind of seperate honoring table and put up pictures of his lost friend as well as other military buddys, old picturs of family members who are or use to be in the military and add a few notes from those people and newspaper clippings that honor the military. Make an kind of Happy and honoring collage. You can even put a framed note saying that $ was donated in lieu of favors to honor all of those seen here...yada yada yada. something different.

My FH is a Marine and on his way back to Afghanistan for his second tour shortly after our wedding, I am a marine vetran. So, we are having a military ceremony and will be adding something in our programs for our sisters & brothers that have fallen. In addition both of our fathers are deceased we will have empty chairs for them during the ceremony but not the reception. The ceremony is less then 40 mins..the reception is all night..and the empty chairs for our dads during the reception would be just too much emotion. You could have memorytable at the reception with her picture in honor of her. Thats what we will be doing for our dads as well. A candle, with their pictures. Thank you for taking so much time to honor are military.

My FFIL is a Marine Corp Vet and if my FI had it is way he would have also been in some branch of the armed forces by now (not that I prevent him from joining he just never has). We have decided to hold a Golf Tournament the day before the wedding for whoever wants to play. We will be accepting donations and the proceeds will be donated to the Wounded Warriors Foundation.

My fiance is in the Marine Corps and I just got out in February. We have known so many military (not just marine corps) that have died or been wounded so we are doing something as well. We are not having a formal military ceremony but we are doing the swords ceremony. I dont know if the Army has anything like that. We are also having a table set for all those that we would have invited. The table will be covered with an american flag. And since the venue is letting us do this for free we are donating the money we would have spent on their meal and drinks into the wounded warrior fund. There are so many differant ways of honoring them. You can do a shot of alcohol (if permitted) in their honor. I wouldnt reccomend a moment of silence because it can be kind of a downer. Good luck! I hope you find something.

Hi my fiance is in the army now and we just attended a wedding where the groom and his brother were both in the army and the brother had died in combat. They wanted to honor him... so they did the Fallen Soldier Ceremony. A table is set for one and symbolizes the members of the military who are missing. Some were prisoners of war, missing in action or fallen soldiers. Their dedication to duty and commitment to the country as well as their memories are honored in this way. I’ve paraphrased the text of the ceremony:

The small table set for one symbolizes the frailty of one soldier alone against his enemies.

The white tablecloth symbolizes the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, symbolizes the blood shed to protect the liberty so cherished in our country.

The yellow ribbon tied prominently on the vase, symbolizing remembrance, reminds us of the family. hope it helps...

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. I'll run them past my fiance and we'll decide what to do. All of them are really special.