When’s the best time to get married in military?

Question

I’m leaving for basic training in July and my boyfriend proposed to me. I’m getting deployed overseas right after my AIT training. How hard is it to get married in the beginning of your military career and when’s the best time to go about it if I’m ready?

Answer

With a timeline like that, a courthouse wedding would probably be the easiest thing to do if you want to get married before you deploy. I guess it just depends on what type of wedding you want and if you’re okay with waiting until after you return. Good luck with everything. 💛

Answer

They told my husband it was best to get married before he left for Basic. He was in a similar situation. It was through a court tho. Next year will be our 10 year anniversary!! Good luck to you and your fiancé ❤️❤️❤️

Answer

My husband and I did a courthouse wedding in February before he left. It makes it waaaaay easier for MEPS to process paperwork.

Answer

I would honestly wait until after basic and AIT. 
Usually after AIT (for the army) you get at least 2 weeks to go home and visit family before you go off to your new duty station. 
In my case: 
Before I joined my ex and I talked about getting married because he was also military (marine). My recruiter advised that I wait it out until after all my training and plan a court house wedding my 2 weeks while at home visiting. 
WELL i listened and my ex ended up cheating on me the whole time I away. 
Your case may be different but that’s just my experience.

Answer

Even if you decide to go the courthouse wedding route, it’s not immediate. Every state has laws about how long you have to wait after you get your marriage certificate and then everything else that follows takes time too. 
For example in Louisiana it took us almost a month to get everything done. And I’m only a the wife of a reservist! 
Marriage certificate had to be obtained—at least 48 hours before the justice of the peace would marry us. We got lucky with our justice of the peace appointment too, I’m told it normally takes about a week to confirm an appointment. 
The justice drops off your official marriage certificate to the courthouse within a day or two. Then you can either pick it up there (you have to request this option when applying for your marriage license) or they mail it to you— 7 days. 
Then you go to the social security office and have your name changed (takes nearly an entire day). 
You have to wait to go to the dmv to update your drivers license until your SS card comes in the mail—at least 7 business days.
Then you have to go to base and update DEERS and change your CAC card and/or get your spouse their new military ID. 
Oh and updating your emergency contacts, beneficiaries, insurance policies, power of attorney, etc. 
Thennnnnn you’re done ✅

Answer

If you are ready I say get married before you leave the process is A LOT easier because the military will walk you through the process of getting your husband in the system under you so he can have medical and all that Jazz. Me and my husband were together for 5 years before he joined and were planning a wedding in 2020 when I finish college but he decided to join the navy so we just got married before he left cause it was gonna happen anyway.

Answer

getting married before you get orders is always easier. you can get orders that allow you to bring a family, otherwise you might have to wait longer than you'd like to move your (then) husband to where you're stationed

Answer

My hubby and I got married in January at the courthouse because it was easier and cheaper than a traditional wedding. We decided to do it because of an upcoming deployment (that eventually got cancelled). We didn’t do a real honeymoon but everything has been great for the most part (aside from adjusting to married life in the military which is a little bit of a challenge but we were both military brats so we had an idea of what to expect). But ultimately it’s up to you. If you get married before AIT then your boyfriend/husband will go with you overseas and you’ll get BAH to help with housing (on base housing they will automatically deduct it from your LES I believe). It may help you both financially to get married and it may not. There are a lot of factors to think about. If you need help or have any questions feel free to message me or comment back ❤️❤️