Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:51 | Carla @ The Ring

WAR BRIDES: High school sweethearts find support in friends

The full interview with modern war bride, Brittany Hahn

Photography by Anita Stefanovic & Paul Griffin of Images With Attitude (www.imageswithattitude.ca)

How long have you been together? Married?

We started dating in November 2006, and we got married on August 8, 2009.

When/how did you meet?

The first time we met was when I was over at a friend's house in high school for a girls night, and Scott and his friend came over. He doesn't remember meeting me; so, his first time meeting me was at high school in the cafeteria.

How was it that you came to be engaged? How did the groom propose? How long were you engaged for before you got married?

It was September 21, 2008 when we were playing cards at the kitchen table, and he pulled me into the living room and got down on one knee, told me he loved me then said "will you marry me?". He then told me after that he actually dropped the ring behind me and had to get down on one knee to pick it up. We were engaged from September 21, 2008 to August 8, 2009, so around 11 months.

Details, details, details

Date of wedding: August 8, 2009
Place of wedding – ceremony & reception: The ceremony took place outside at Leisure Estates Bed & Breakfast in Elmira, and the reception took place at the Waterloo Inn (www.waterlooinn.com).
Budget: I don't remember what the final numbers were, but I know we went way over our budget.
Gown, tuxes, attire: My gown was made by Pronovias with Swarovski Crystals purchased at Taylor's Bridal in Elmira. The tuxes were rented from Browns & Sons in Elmira. The bridesmaids dresses were also purchased from Taylor's Bridal.
Wedding party:Our wedding party consisted of 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, 1 junior bridesmaid, 1 flower girl, and 1 ring bearer.
Flowers, décor, etc.:Our flowers were purchased from Frey's Flowers in Elmira, I can't remember all of the flowers, but the majority were lilies, and hydrangea, the décor at the Waterloo Inn was done by Julia Weddings (www.juliaweddings.ca).
Food & Cake: Food was provided by the Waterloo Inn, they prepared pork tenderloin for us with their house salad and dessert. The cake was purchased from Jirina's Bakery (www.jirinasbakery.com). It was four layers.

How did your fiance's pending departure affect your wedding plans?

The February after we got engaged I had figured that Scott had signed up to go to Afghanistan. I found out just a couple of days before my birthday. He did not want to tell me he had signed up until he had his interview in March and knew for sure he was going. Of course I tried to talk him out of it, but I knew this was something he really wanted and needed to do. He left to start training in April 2009 up in Petawawa and stayed there until April 2010. He was only allowed to come home on weekends, and he always called me every night to catch up. We didn't like to do too much planning on the weekends as that was the only time we got to spend time with each other, so that meant that I did most of the planning. I had a lot of support from people around me and that helped so much.

How long after your wedding did your husband have to go to Afghanistan? How long was he gone?

He left May 13, 2010 and his gone for 9 months; and since August 8, 2009 until May 13, 2010 he has been training.

How do you and your husband maintain your relationship while he is gone?

While he was training in Petawawa he was able to call me every night (mostly) and talk on MSN. During his training he also had to go to California for two months (January to March 2010), he called roughly twice a week, or whenever he could.

Have you found any other women in your situation? If so, how does knowing them help you cope with having a husband in the war?

There is actually a very good support system that the military has set-up for spouses and parents. I also know several wives/girlfriends that have gone through what I am going through and talking to them helps a lot. I also have a high school friend whose boyfriend was in Afghanistan in 2008/2009 and got engaged while he was on his leave, and is now getting married in June 2010. We talked a lot about everything as we were going through the same thing.

Have you found any kind of support either within your family, friends or community to help you deal with your situation?

Yes, i have found support from all of the above. We have a lot of love and support. Everyone we know has put up a yellow ribbon on their house.

What advice do you have for other modern brides whose husbands have been, or will be deployed shortly after their wedding?

The advice I would give would be to take all of the support from people as you can, do things you wouldn't normally have time do, like a goal in life you would like to accomplish, and keep busy! Also, support your husbands as it will make things so much easier, and make all the effort to do the little things. Like sending letters, emails, and videos from home.

Click here to read more stories on WWII and modern war brides.