Everything You Need to Know About the Weddings for Warriors Program
Life in the military can stretch even the strongest of relationships to their limits. Deployments, training, and relocations can mean spending long periods apart. Military couples often face uncertainty and last-minute changes, which demand of them unimaginable flexibility and resilience. But despite the many challenges of navigating love from afar, many couples commit to life forever. After being apart for the majority of their time together, they take the leap, get down on one knee, and pop the long-awaited question. These are the stories we hear — time and time again — from the hundreds of military couples who apply to our Weddings for Warriors program every year.
Created to honor service members who so courageously serve our country, the Weddings for Warriors program gives away free ceremonies and receptions to a few lucky United States active-duty military members, veterans, and their partners. If you’re a newly engaged military couple looking to tie the knot, nominations for 2026 weddings are open!
But hurry: The submission deadline is just around the corner — to be considered, you must submit your entry by June 30, 2025. Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know about the program before you apply.
Kyleigh and Alec’s summer wedding at The Olana was a tribute to love and service, thanks to Weddings for Warriors.
How it Started
Walters Wedding Estates’ founder Sarah Walters knows just how uniquely rewarding military relationships can be — she’s seen the love and commitment her grandparents shared during their 69 years of marriage. Her grandfather, Thomas Clayton Quigley, was a first lieutenant in the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during World War II. He was a patriot who loved his country and his wife, Barbara, in equal measure; despite the long periods of separation, wartime uncertainty, and countless other obstacles they faced during their time together, they held fast to their love.
Their unwavering dedication to their country — and each other — became a source of inspiration for Sarah and her husband, Keith, who started the Weddings for Warriors in 2019 to ease the financial burden of wedding planning for military couples. “It is our hope that Weddings for Warriors honors their love story and brings years of happiness to other military lovebirds for years to come,” Sarah said. With more than $1 million in weddings gifted away, the program has helped over a hundred couples tie the knot since its creation.
2025 Recipients
Back in November of 2024, we announced the recipients of the 2025 Weddings for Warriors program. Each of these couples was chosen because their love stories deeply moved us — stories of connections that have endured across different time zones and continents. Childhood friends turned high-school Bible study partners, Chloe Pruett and Dallas Davis, for example, have already tied the knot at The Milestone Mansion — after months of wedding planning while being over 7,500 miles apart.
Natalia Sotomayor-Oyola and Jacob Dayon, who first struck up a friendship in college, will finally exchange their vows in July at Chapel at Riverwalk after years-long separation. Kaylee Kingston and Boyd Reed, after facing their fair share of struggles and almost making the decision to elope, are now getting the wedding of their dreams at Iron Manor, The Milestone Montgomery. This year’s recipients also included Jennifer Escobar and Codie Ballard, Haley Hollimon and Eric Walker, and Annamarie Crixell and Shane Heckenbach. You can read their heartfelt stories here.
How it Works
With dozens of incredible wedding venues across Texas and Georgia, Walters Wedding Estates is giving away one wedding per reception hall per year to a military couple. To be eligible, either you or your spouse-to-be must be an active, honorably discharged, or retired member of the U.S. Armed Services “Qualified Veteran.” So, if you’re looking for the perfect canvas for your dream wedding (and meet the requirements above), we welcome you to read the official rules and apply for a chance to win a wedding at one of our venues.
But first things first: Please take a moment to review all of our ceremony and reception spaces, which run the gamut from Romanesque chapels to Southern-style mansions. During the application process, we will ask you to provide information about yourselves and select your preferred venues. We will also ask you to tell us about your love story in a 1,000 words or less — why you joined the military, how you met, and how you’ve managed to overcome the challenges of keeping love alive while traversing oceans. All entries need to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CST on June 30, 2025.
Winning a Wedding
Every year, we select a panel of judges from the Walters Wedding Estates staff to review all nominees and their stories. If you’re selected as a winner, we will notify you via a phone call or an email on or before October 2025. After confirming your identity and signing some paperwork, the exciting part begins — planning your wedding!
Working with the Walters Wedding Estates team (and your designated venue’s availability), you will select a date for your celebration before making important decisions about your guest list. (Please keep in mind that receptions will be limited to a maximum of 200 attendees). From there, you will begin crafting the details of your big day with your Walters Wedding Planner — a dedicated expert who knows the ins and outs of wedding-planning and how to orchestrate an event everyone will remember.
Ready to win the wedding of your dreams or know deserving lovebirds who could use some help planning and executing their big day? You can nominate yourself or another couple by filling out the entry form. Please make sure to read all rules and regulations before applying.