San Diego Style Weddings
Summer 2004

Operation "I Do" Honoring San Diego Military Couples - by Kristen Castillo

The war in Iraq and the fight against domestic terrorism has been a constant in the lives of many San Diego brides and grooms. That's why a local group of volunteers decided to show their appreciation for the men and women dedicated to serving their country.

And so Operation "I Do" was born. The concept: To provide free dream weddings to two military couples, compliments of San Diego business and community members. In November 2003, Shannon Grauer married her military groom, SK3 Christopher Miers. Another couple, LCDR Virginia Knight and fiancé Albert Swalla married in April 2004,

To be eligible, the fiancé or the fiancée had to have been forward deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. All applicants' military status was verified through the Department of Defense. Entries were due by early August and the winners were randomly selected at the end of the month.

Organizer Jan Volcek served in the Army during the Vietnam era. Even though he did not serve in the war, he knows the challenges that face service members and their families. Volcek watched TV and saw protestors questioning the war with Iraq. He decided he wanted to do something to thank the troops for their service to country.

Volcek asked himself: "How about if we do a storybook wedding for a military person?"

As and ocean engineer, Volcek was ill experienced to plan a wedding. But he contacted people in the wedding industry and found immediate support. The overwhelming amount of interest prompted him to coordinate two weddings, an Alpha and a Bravo. Each wedding hosted 100 guests and cost between $50,000 and $100,000. Volcek and area business funded the Alpha wedding, while San Diego Magazine hosted the Bravo wedding.

Volcek approached the wedding planning like he would any large task and that strategy worked. "Engineers tend to be well organized and logical. I structured this like an engineering project which results in attention to detail."

The Alpha wedding details were coordinated by Lisa Lippe, a wedding coordinator and owner of Details Defined. Southwest Airlines provided air travel for the couple and their guests. An anonymous jeweler designed unique rings out of precious metals for the couple and then broke the mold. The ceremony and reception for the Alpha Wedding was held at Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. The wedding cake was created by Anna V., Volcek's wife, and a pastry chef at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Photographer Darin Fong captured all of the day's moments.

The Bravo wedding was also coordinated by Lisa Lippe and included cake by Anna V. Preserving the memories were photographer Paul Barnett and Kosmicki Videography. Royal Maui Jewels took care of the rings and the Hotel Del Coronado hosted the couple on their wedding night. Many other businesses contributed to the Bravo wedding festivities, including Town Limousine, Brides by Demetrios and Personal Touch Dining, Inc. Photos were not available at press time for this publication.

The organizers proudly hosted the Alpha and the Bravo weddings as a show of respect and a community thank you to the men and women defending our freedom.