Getting married before or after A school?

[ashley1026]

well my fiance just left to basic :( and we are planning on getting married after he gets out, but i don't know if we should do it before he's out of a school or after. he's going to san antonio for school. so should i fly over there so we can get married then? do i have to make an appointment at the courthouse? will he even get free time to get married! ahhh i hate not having things planned out lol! any advice would be greatly appreciated! :) 

[meagan5220]

I would suggest before he gets out then you will get a paid move, if its before orders are issued. There is tonss of information about the benefits of getting married during A school. You can look through the discussions and find information about why and how. And I am sure there is info about getting married in Texas. I got married in Pcola so cant help you there.  

[ashley1026]

oh really?? thanks for the info. i'll make sure to go through the discussions. :)

[meagan5220]

also you might find a group for his rate and ask about wait times down there to class up and start their school and how fast orders are getting issued upon getting into classes, and phases and the restrictions in each phase.

[meagan5220]

if you look one discussion down you will see one titled Phase II wedding? on the second page a girl post a little blurb about getting married in TX. I think she said San Antonio specifically.

[NorfolkNavyWife]

I had the same questions when my fiance (now husband!) left for BC.

Here's what we did; The day of PIR was so hectic we knew we weren't going to have time to do it that day. PIR was on Friday, and he flew out to A-School in Pensacola on Saturday at 5am. PIR finished up around 11, but Tom had so many last minute things to do (picking up t-shirt orders, getting his graduation photos, and he needed his liberty pass), he didn't go on liberty until around 3pm. The Sailors left base around 1 am, got to the airport around 2, and then he was gone again.

When they first get to A-School, they are on Phase 1. Meaning they can't leave base, they have muster (roll call) every morning and night, and they are put on hold while waiting for school to start. Once he classes up (begins his classes) he will be at Phase 2. When they are at Phase 2, they can leave base and all that. He would need to be Phase 3 to be able to spend the night away from base, however.

We waited until Tom was Phase 2, to plan when we would get married. It just worked out that he hit Phase 2 in the beginning of February, so we planned that I would fly down to Florida and get married on March 1st (our four year dating anniversary!).

Depending on his schooling, Phase 3 can come pretty quick after Phase 2 (my husband only had to wait 1 week).

So, I flew down on Thursday, March 1st, waited for Tom to finish up classes for the day, and we took a cab over to the courthouse & were married. Friday he had classes, so I had to wait at the hotel for him. Then we had the whole rest of the weekend to be with each other.

They have school Mon-Fri. You will have to wait for you fiance to start classes before you will know what time his classes will be at. (Alpha shift starts around 7am, Bravo shift starts around 4pm). Tom is Alpha shift, so it worked out that we got married in the evening.

As long as it's not a duty day (they can't leave base) he will have the weekend to spend with you after you get married.

It sounds like hard work, but it's easy! Promise!

You don't need an appointment at the courthouse. Military don't have a waiting period after they get a marriage license, either. We got dropped off at the courthouse, filed the marriage license, and were married shortly after!

Bootcamp will fly by when you have your wedding and marriage to think about, trust me! If you have more questions are are still confused, send me a message!

Best of luck! & Stay strong! <3

[ashley1026]

omgsh thank you for the reply! i was feeling a little stressed because we hadn't set any actual plans yet! he wants to get married as soon as we can so i can (hopefully) move with him whenever he gets stationed! however, he didn't know much about the process and neither did i. so we would probably have to wait a few weeks into a school then. that is so cute you guys got to get married on your dating anniversary! our 4 years is in may so we won't be able to do that :( , but ok i'll stay on top of it! that is so relieving to know we don't need an appointment! i was worried about that! do you happen to know when they get their orders? is it true that if we aren't married before he receives them i won't be able to move with him? thanks again! :)

[meagan5220]

Still make sure you check out rules for TX bc they have different wait times, and rules. Also the A school might have different phase lengths. as will. In FL there is no wait time as long as the couple isnt residents of FL no matter if they are civilian or military. I heard that TX has 72 hour wait and one person even said they thought it could only be waived for members that were deploying soon. Idk how true that is but your best bet for info for TX would be to look up the county where he will be in A school and get the info from the website for the courts down there. I also heard that in TX the guys dont get off in time to get married by a judge so he might have to get a chaplain on base to get it done. Again its going to be different in different states and thats what I have heard from girls who have gotten married in TX. Also he needs to fill out a chit, a request to get married when he gets to A school. Also different schools have different rules about what all they for sure can do in each phase and how long it takes. Thats why your best bet would be to find a discussion about TX marriages and go from there.

[meagan5220]

oh also if you arent on the orders the military just wont PAY for you to move, and they wont give you dislocation allowance and money for gas and hotels. Which believes me adds up and takes a huge load off of you. But you are allowed to move to his duty station even if you arent on his orders (you are civilian so you can move wherever you want, doesnt mean they are going to make it easy for you) but its done a lot. Either way when you are married you will get BAH and when you get to his command he can live off base with you (even if your move wasnt paid for) he just has to make sure he is on time and doesnt miss anything :)

[Steph]

- Meagan5220- I need your help! I sent friend request, sorry still getting use to this site. My boyfriend is still in BC but graduates in 2 weeks. He is going to A school in Pensacola and we are wanting to get married before he gets his orders. He will be in Florida for 8 months. Your story is similar to ours. Can you help me figure out what we need to do.

[Anti M]

Here is the link to the county clerk and marriage license information:

http://www.escambiaclerk.com/clerk/coc_marriage.aspx  

Bookmark it, you'll need the info later.

[meagan5220]

I will add you :) then feel free to message me any questions. the link Anti M posted is def a link you will need to bookmark! :)

[Steph]

Thanks Anti M and Meagan! I read Pensacola Wifes earlier entry and was wondering if that's what you did? Wait till phase 2... and what were the costs. I saw the marriage license price but do they officiate it at the court house... Any stress I can relieve my man of is helpful. Plus I'm super anal and organized.