A Solider's Wedding
Written by Nancy Yamada

They may have to post-pone the honeymoon but an army soldier injured in Iraq and his fiancée aren't complaining.

They are getting a free wedding, courtesy of some generous Georgetown business owners. As W*USA 9 News reporter Nancy Yamada explains, it's intended to give a fresh start for a couple going through tough times.

As reported by Nancy Yamada

"I'm starting to putting the final touches on it.." A wedding cake for a couple she has never met. Saturday afternoon, it will sit front and center at the Four Seasons in Georgetown where Army Specialist Aaron Bugg and Lisa McCroskey will have the wedding of their dreams.

"I definitely support the troops who are in Iraq. And it's really nice to do something nice for good people." Lisa Kempf of the Georgetown Club is among the vendors who are donating their services to the army specialist and his bride to be.

In late September, while in Iraq, Bugg nearly lost his leg when a remote control bomb exploded under the Humvee he was riding in. Now in a wheelchair, when word got out that Bugg was engaged and recovering at the Walter Reed Medical Center, business owners like Ed Solomon wanted to do something special.

"My initial thoughts...how soon do they need it and how many do that need? Let's do it. It was that simple," Solomon said.

Solomon is donating the groom's tux as well as the entire bridal party's attire. "They're thanking me for the tuxedos and I'm thinking...'thanking me?' I'm thanking you...what you've gone through. And they're looking forward to a good future and they love each other," Solomon said.

And capturing their love on their special day will be photographer Lauren Burke. "We definitely owe a debt of gratitude. In my view, it's the least that we can do," Burke said.

Specialist Bugg's greatest wish is to walk down the aisle Saturday, he's been practicing with a walker. And if all goes according to plan, he and his new bride will be able to leave Walter Reed Medical Center in three to six months.

And the wedding almost didn't happen because of a military rule that doesn't allow soldiers to accept gifts. But after hearing the couple's story, the Army changed that rule, it now allows anyone to donate gifts to a non-profit military organization that will then distribute the donations as it sees fit.

Soldiers' Angels