For
most couples, planning a wedding is fun, exciting and
usually, at some point, stressful. Whether it’s where to
hold the wedding or how many guests to invite, most
couples face a snag or two when planning their wedding.
For one local couple, facing a snag would be putting it
mildly. Like so many other people in the country, Jamie
& Sal’s lives were instantly changed on September 11th
, but unlike many other stories
about that day, this story has a happily ever after in the
future.
Jamie
& Sal are both in the military; in fact, that’s how
they met and became engaged! Sal has been in the military
on active duty for a number of years while Jamie is a
military reservist. In the summer of 2001 Jamie & Sal
had already chosen their wedding date, placed a deposit on
a reception hall and started choosing other services for
their 2002 wedding. As Jamie’s mom recalls, September 11th
"changed their lives in one split second."
"Back
in September when I was first recalled, it was really
hard. We thought we’d have to postpone the
wedding," Jamie said. Now that both Jamie and Sal
have received their current assignments they are a little
more relaxed about their wedding plans. Because Jamie and
Sal are both in the military, in September they could have
been stationed anywhere and not necessarily the same
place. For security reasons we won’t mention assignments
or where they are currently stationed. In fact, their
military orders could change even now.
So
how are Jamie and Sal planning a wedding when their
assignments could change at any time? Not without a lot of
help. "It’s wonderful how helpful everyone’s
been," Jamie’s mom told us. Julie Foster, the
wedding coordinator at their reception site, Mays Landing
Golf & Country Club, even offered to return their $500
deposit or to schedule the wedding sooner based on
available dates. Jamie then told us how their
photographer, E-Z Memories, said if they had to reschedule
the date they would do it if they had that date open, and
the only difference in price if they had to postpone for a
year would be if they raised their rates. Timely
Arrangements, Jamie & Sal’s florist, said they too
would accommodate a date change if necessary. (Dolores at
Timely Arrangements told us that if they already had a
wedding scheduled for that day they would still
accommodate Jamie & Sal by either working all night or
hiring extra help.)
Right
now, Jamie and Sal are continuing their wedding plans for
later this year while working long days on assignment for
the military. Both are very proud to be serving in the
military and Jamie’s mom couldn’t be prouder. She even
told us how a stranger who saw Jamie in her military
uniform buying a pie around Thanksgiving came up to her
and offered to buy the pie for her because she appreciated
what Jamie was doing for her country. As Jamie’s mom
relates, it’s the simple acts of kindness from strangers
along with the help of local wedding professionals that
have helped them move forward with their wedding plans
during what has been a very stressful time for everyone in
the country - not just Jamie & Sal.
Many
things are still very much up in the air with Jamie &
Sal’s wedding plans. For example, all the groomsmen are
also in the military and the honeymoon may have to be
postponed until Jamie and Sal are no longer on active
duty. One thing seems certain, though, Jamie and Sal are
well on the way to living happily ever after.
Notes/Tips
for Other Military Couples:
In
general, you should never expect to receive a
deposit back from any wedding professional if you
have to change your wedding date. Your deposit reserves a
date and if you cancel the wedding or change your date the
wedding professional may not be able to rebook that date
since they had it reserved for you. Obviously, the wedding
professionals mentioned above went out of their way to be
accommodating but as a rule this should not be expected.
If
you are a military reservist and expect to be recalled for
active duty, Jamie recommended waiting to see where you’re
stationed before making plans. Once you find out where you’re
stationed, locally or overseas, and have an idea of how
long you will be stationed in one place it makes it
easier. You would also then have a better idea of what
time you can get off since you accumulate so much in leave
after a certain amount of time.
