Dress Blues at Civilian Wedding??

@greenebunny, RIGHT?!

@GB, EXACTLY. It's all about respect and gratitude.

Your brother served his country and like I said above, has every right to wear his dress blues to formal events, even if it's a wedding. I would be honored to have one of the groomsmen wear their blues. They should be proud! And they should be recognized for their service .

P.s- I won't.

They only thing I would worry about is if he wears them when he's not supposed to. I come from a military family and they'd side eye the shit out of that. That's on him, so I suppose it's a moot point to worry.

But, otherwise I'd say let it go. Especially, because FH is on board. He won't upstage you and those blues are earned.

There are rules concerning dress blues that vary within each branch. But even if he were allowed to wear them, he should be wearing the uniform of the groomsmen, especially if it is a civilian wedding. A military veteran does not need to be honored at every event.

My husband is an Air Force veteran. I agree with a lot of others here- he has said that the uniform is quite uncomfortable, which seems weird because all it appears to be is a suit like any other. He actually prefers not to display his military career, and he hates being honored.

I found this:

https://www.thebalance.com/military-uniforms-by-retirees-veterans-3356978

There is a link on the page for each branch of the military

One of our six groomsmen will be wearing dress blues (other guys will be in tuxes). we didn't know the rules either and left the choice up to him. he is active military.

He has earned the right to wear his uniform, let him! God bless him for his service!!

I think you're overthinking it. Let him make that choice - he earned the right to wear them and assuming he's still allowed to I would absolutely let him have that honor. Nobody is going to upstage you at your wedding, so if that's all that's making you question it let it go.

I'm not sure which branch he is in but I feel he would be upstaging the groom. I agree that he has earned the right to wear his dress blues whenever and wherever he chooses hell I wore mine every chance I got when I was in the Marines. But I wouldn't dare wear it in the bridal party. It will take attention from the intended...the bride and groom. Although we appreciate his service the day shouldnt be focused on him. The focus should be on the couple and if he is the only one is dress blues the focus will be on him.

I would assume he knows the rules his branch has for wearing his dress blues and if he wants to wear them you shouldn't ask him not to. It will not upstage the wedding, don't worry. I feel like people will notice it when he enters the ceremony and then focus their attention on you and your FH.

I was going to ask if the other groomsmen had rented their tuxes yet and if you could go with navy for all the guys instead of black if you are truly worried about him standing out in a different color (if navy would go with the rest of your colors). But then I saw @GreeneBunny's pic and I think that the navy is barely noticeable against the black!

Wearing his dress blues will in no way upstage anyone. Honestly, people will notice it when he enters the ceremony and think, "oh that's nice" and then they will not pay attention to it again.

I wonder if the answers would still be they have served allow them to wear it if the question was my bridesmaid wants to wear her dress blues instead of the gown I chose? Just playing devils advocate. Again I served so I understand.

As some PP have mentioned there are guidelines for military personal on when they can and cannot wear them. Typically if someone just decided not to re-enlist they don't typically wear them. If he was active duty without a doubt I would say yes and again I would still say yes because it is his responsibility to follow the military guidelines. Most of the times the military dress blues do not stick out that much unless you are have a casual wedding.

Hmmm I'm not sure about this one. It would be one thing if he was the groom. But he's just a guest. I feel like if everyone is gonna be wearing the same thing why is he different? I'd politely ask I guess. My fiancé is US army and he's not gonna wear his uniform for our wedding. He wants to wear a suit.

@Alana, agreed. I am in the military and I would never ask a bride if I could wear my dress uniform instead of the dress she chose if I was a bridesmaid. I also don't think there are many people who would say I'm serving this country so let me wear my uniform if I want to if I were a bridesmaid. I personally do think it looks a little strange when 1 person wears a uniform and the rest don't (unless it's the groom wearing the uniform) but I definitely don't think him wearing a uniform upstages anybody. I'm just not a fan of how it looks. Hopefully he knows there are rules governing whether or not he is able to even wear the uniform now since he is out of the military. He may want to wear it because he can't afford to purchase or rent a tux. I think it's fair to request he wears the same suit/tux as the other groomsmen but I would ask all the groomsmen privately what their budget is. I also think you can let him wear the uniform and it wouldn't upstage anyone, I just personally am not a fan of how that looks. I definitely think you can go whichever way you prefer here.

I don't think it would look funny or up stage anyone if he requested to wear them then hopefully he knows he is allowed (per the military) and wants to wear them. Many friends of mine wear them to weddings and formal events as a show of pride for their service. I wouldn't say no if one of my FHs GM asked us.

I don't think he is allowed to wear dress blues when he is no longer in the military. My FH was in the navy and he said it's considered impersonating the military and it's illegal. Also, in my opinion if he was in the military still, I would prefer everyone to be matching and not have one person wearing a different outfit - but that's my personal opinion. ETA: after reading other comments i could be wrong though. Maybe my FH meant it was illegal to wear a uniform that was not theirs - ie impersonating a military person - if it's his uniform it's probsbly different. But i still think it is kind of odd that he wants to wear it even though he isn't active duty. My FH hated wearing his military clothes even when he was in the military!

I am personally pro-uniform but he should definitely look into the rules for him wearing it. I know if you are retired that you can, I am not sure about those who were discharged for whatever reason or didn't reenlist. My dad is a retired Naval Officer and he is wearing his dress blues, this is solely though because it was a important request from me. I grew up in the military and I used to see him in his uniforms on a daily basis (except when he was on tour of course) so I have a strong sense of pride for that uniform (and the man wearing it).

My FH is active duty in the Navy and I asked him to wear his dress uniform for the ceremony. He was hesitant at first because he didn't want to take focus away from me, but this is something that I wanted. One of his GM was in the Navy but isn't anymore, I am thankful for his service but would not like him to wear his uniform even if he asked. All of the guys will be wearing the same thing.

I think it's strange that he would want to wear it when he isn't active duty. He should ask first this is your wedding. It does sound like he wants the attention and or he can't afford to buy or rent a suit. Honestly if you aren't cool with you should say something. This is your day after all.

I agree that he's earned the right to wear it. HOWEVER, we always say on this forum that the bride and groom get to choose the wedding party attire and I would have no problem with a couple who said no to the uniform.