Another ball has come and gone. Honestly, this was the best one I've attended, by far. Maybe it was the company in our presence? Maybe it's because it was highly organized? Or maybe the third time was the charm?
This particular ball was the third I've ever attended. Third in 14-ish years of my husband being active duty, and oddly enough, our second at the same duty station.
My husband NEVER wants to attend balls, and I don't blame him. There's a lot of prep that goes into these things.
For the soldier man:
This particular ball was the third I've ever attended. Third in 14-ish years of my husband being active duty, and oddly enough, our second at the same duty station.
My husband NEVER wants to attend balls, and I don't blame him. There's a lot of prep that goes into these things.
For the soldier man:
- Fresh hair cut
- Freshly pressed and dry cleaned uniform
- Up to date tailoring, if needed.
- New service stripes, ribbons, oak clusters, etc, (if needed)
- Shined shoes (my husband has never had to wear dress jump boots, THANK GOD)
For the woman spouse:
- Long, formal dress
- Formal shoes
- Matching handbag
- Hair, nails, makeup (I always do my own)
For the couple:
- Tickets. These can be costly
- Picture package
- Babysitter fees (if applicable)
- Uber fees (if you plan to drink)
- Hotel room for the night (if you fancy that sort of thing)
My husband and I generally stick to the basics. We look nice, show up, go home.
We're soooo fucking boring.
We're soooo fucking boring.
This year did have some unexpected expenses, though.
My husband hadn't updated his dress uniform since the last ball in April of 2018. His uniform needed some new pieces: Oak clusters, service ribbons, service stripes, a fresh press/cleaning. All of that cost about $50 bucks.
For me, I had settled on a ball gown I purchased online. I didn't stick to my typical dress size (tried and true) because I had read numerous reviews where people said this particular dress fit too small and to order a size up. I should've listened to my gut and ordered my normal size. I spent about $100 bucks on a non-returnable dress that did not fit. Tailors in my area wanted about $30-40 to make it fit. To make matters worse, the color of the dress really washed me out. I looked like I was recovering from vampire disease.
So, I put the dress on eBay and searched for a new dress.
I found one I loved in a dusty rose color on Poshmark for $40 bucks with free shipping. I had read the description and was certain it'd fit. You see, it was a David's Bridal dress. I've been known to be a bridesmaid a time of two...or three...in my lifetime. I know my size, and I know that my size, unaltered, fits like a glove and needs 0% hemming if I wear 3" heeled shoes. I even got on the David's Bridal site, looked up the dress and confirmed the measurements would work before purchasing my Posh deal.
The dress arrived. As soon as I opened the box, I knew it would NOT fit. It was soooo short! It was also a bubble gum pink, and not dusty rose as pictured or described. I tried it on anyway and I was right. After a fight with Poshmark about alterations on the dress (the listing said it had never been altered) and proof in pictures (the underskirt of tulle had a bad cut job), I shipped it back and got my full refund.
But because I actually loved the fit and cut of the gown, I jumped on David's Bridal and bought the same, brand new dress, in a different color: Wine.
Total spent in dresses, minus my $40 Poshmark refund: $269.00
Shoes and clutch were easy: Rose gold block heels and rose gold clutch via Amazon:$30
As for our other expenses:
- Couples ticket: $110 per couple
- Pizza for the teens at home: $40
- Pictures at the ball: $45 for ONE digital image
Total cost: $544
That's one fucking expensive date night!!!
Our night started out with a couple friend coming to our house. Both of them are active duty soldiers, but the female soldier wore a normal dress, rather than her army dress uniform. Don't blame her. I laughed when I saw we were wearing the SAME color.
We took a few pictures on my deck, left their two-year-old kid behind with my teens (and a buttload of pizza), then set off together to the next town over: Manhattan, KS.
Units here love to utilize Hilton Garden Inn as the go-to event space for balls. Our last ball was held at the same hotel, in the same giant ballroom, so I kind of knew what to expect.
As soon as we arrived, the dreaded need to pee also arrived. There I was, in the bathroom stall, trying not to piss all over my dress as I had done at my very first ball with 2ID in Fort Lewis-many moons ago. Once I made it out, we circulated the cocktail tables. They had these amazing stuffed mushrooms that I couldn't get enough of. I also took the time to capture a few selfies because YOLO.
Once we said "hello" to fellow soldiers my husband can and can't stand, we got into the Receiving Line. This was MY VERY FIRST receiving line, though I had heard about them for years and years. Basically, all of the super high ranking folks (and their spouses) standing shoulder to shoulder, shaking hands with everyone as they process into the main ballroom to take their marked seats. It's awkward, no doubt. After that, we found our assigned table and seats, then made our way back out into the lobby area to get into the picture line.
I was semi-skeptical of the setup for photos and asked the woman collecting money for the photographer about the file size and image quality (dpi, jpeg, etc,), she stared at me as if I were crazy, then said, "No one has ever asked that. Don't really know." Whatever. I was at their mercy.
I was semi-skeptical of the setup for photos and asked the woman collecting money for the photographer about the file size and image quality (dpi, jpeg, etc,), she stared at me as if I were crazy, then said, "No one has ever asked that. Don't really know." Whatever. I was at their mercy.
We were second in line to have our photo captured when some high ranking dude began yelling that the ceremonial part of the ball was beginning and every one needed to be seated. I didn't wait for nothing. We remained in line when he came up and cut off the line behind us.
After paying $45 for a digital image, we roamed into the ballroom with our double date and got caught in the crossfire of colors being presented. We stood still, waiting to make our way to the table.
THIS. WAS AWKWARD.
We finally made our way to our table after the presentation of colors and sat before our sad salads.
Arriving at your table is always interesting. You never know what the presentation will look like or how long its been sitting there. The good news? They never put dressing on your salad, so at least its not a super sog fest.
The offset of this ball was that the coordinator (which my husband knows by name) arranged for bottles of wine at each table, rather than guests trying to track down a waiter, or even worse, having to pay out of pocket for any alcohol served.
The other two balls I attended within my husband's years of service NEVER had a drop of free alcohol, so needless to say, I wasn't mad at this one.
As speeches began, severs made their rounds, bringing our pre-selected main courses. I always order the beef. I hate fish. Chicken is a questionable choice -generally speaking- at any large volume event. Or maybe I've been served under-cooked pink chicken a time or two?
The filet mignon was actually not bad, but the odd, perfect scoop of mashed potatoes were everything. Maybe I was just really hungry? I'll never know.
One aspect of military balls (or at least army balls) that I've always heard of, yet have never experienced, is the Grog Ceremony.
Grog= a bunch of random ass alcohol beverages mixed into a giant vat/bucket/rubbermaid tub. This creates GALLONS of a puke looking cocktail that is shared with all.
Each shop (or section) had a way of presenting their group beverage in the craziest and most creative ways. The medics used an IV bag to 'pour' tequila into the mix. Some other group used a gas can to add in multiple bottles of Jägermeister, of course with a new gas can. By the time this giant barrel was full, it must have had at least 60 different alcohol beverages in it; liquor, wine and beer.
After the grog ceremony is complete, a volunteer from each table grabs a pitcher and everyone pours a glass, drinking it to a toast.
I, unceremoniously, passed on this part of the evening. It did not look refreshing, in the least, and smelled like high octane jet fuel.
Although we had a good time, I am guessing this was our final ball at Fort Riley. Because it ended up being a great evening out, I doubt we can top it at a third ball with this current unit.
Oh, the $45 dollar digital image didn't turn out bad! Worth it.
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