Love in Baghdad's Red Zone led to last weekend's nuptials between Danielle Hansen and Jimmy Barnes.
The new Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are in the midst of a 12-month deployment in Iraq and the Army soldiers tied the knot in the bride's hometown during a two-week leave they finagled together.
Jimmy, an Oregon native, met her parents for the first time after three days of travel that took them from Iraq to Kuwait to Germany to Atlanta to Chicago to Traverse City. Within minutes of meeting, the family knew he was the "right one." Danielle, who came home for her brother, Matt's, graduation from Traverse City Central High School, launched a 30-hour wedding planning blitz that culminated in last Friday's ceremony.
"We got lucky, I put in for leave for my brother's graduation and [Jimmy] wasn't going to take it at the same time," recalled Danielle, a 2003 Central High School graduate. "But it worked out."
Before leaving Iraq, they had made long-distance arrangements with the Grand Traverse County Clerk's office — express mailing needed documents —- and the family pastor at West Bay Covenant Church, so the paperwork was nearly ready. In one appointment before the wedding, the minister packed three months of pre-nuptial counseling into three hours.
Traveling light and exhausted after their trip, the couple had planned to marry in their Army field uniforms.
"The uniforms were new but definitely not fancy," noted the bride, adding that they told their field commanders in Iraq of their wedding plans before leaving.
Then while ring shopping, Danielle ducked into a bridal store and discovered her dream wedding dress on a clearance rack. A perfect fit meant Jimmy and other men in the wedding party needed tuxes. Flowers, a cake, photography and a meal for the 32 attendees quickly fell into place.
"Everybody was excited to help us, it was pretty cool," said Danielle, thrilled that rare Calla Lilies, which usually require pre-ordering, were available at the florist.
The Barnes will have a winter wedding reception with his family in Oregon after their Iraq deployment ends.
The couple courted at the Army base in Baghdad, where she is a medic and he is an engineer. Both are with the 62nd Engineers, Combat Heavy, Battalion, which supports the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) based at Fort Hood, Texas. At one point, Danielle treated Jimmy for a minor injury, one of two he sustained in the field.
For a few months, they shared dinners, movies and talks but private time is not allowed for unmarried couples. One benefit they anticipate upon return later this week is that they can live together for the remainder of their time in Iraq.
"The good thing about [dating in Iraq] was it was quality time," said Danielle, who enlisted out of high school and previously deployed to Korea for 14 months.
Danielle plans to end her Army career when her four-year enlistment ends next year. Her husband, whose work in Iraq is to rebuild roads to prevent IED attacks and also find IEDs for detonation, has nearly three years to go.
"Once you're married in the Army, they keep you in the same geographic area and if he's going to deploy back to Iraq, I'll stay in so we can deploy back together," she said.
The pair is proud of their service in Iraq and noted that the country, while still volatile in places, can also be friendly to American soldiers.
"You get a vibe: if you're in an area and people are waving to you or throwing peace signs, they're friendly," Danielle said. "if nobody's waving at you or all the kids disappear, you get in your vehicle."
"Things are constantly changing there, like the kind of armor we have," she added. "Like if there's better stuff, you get it right away; we get the new stuff there, the best."