For a Veterans Day observance Sunday, Army 2nd Lt. Jessica Akers wore the uniform of the day — floor-length white chiffon and sequins.

This is how you recognize a bride, just as you know soldiers by their fatigues and combat boots. Akers traded one for the other to choose a gown for her wedding next October to Mike Cornell of Hagerstown, Md., a fellow Iraq veteran.

Akers, her mother, sister, bridesmaids and 6-month-old niece drove from

Graysonville, Md., to the Sposabella bridal shop in Feasterville to take part in Brides Across America, a program that offers free wedding gowns to service members or their fiancées.

Several brides-to-be drove similarly long distances for a perk that knocked hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, off the cost of their weddings.

“Being in the military, a lot of people seem to think we make so much,” said retired Marine Staff Sgt. Larry Douglas Jr., an Iraq veteran who traveled from New York with his fiancée, Bernice Terry.

He said the bridal event was a welcome gesture of appreciation.Off-Shoulder Wedding Dresses

“It's an awesome program, what with the cost of dresses these days,” he said.

Douglas and Terry, who dated 22 years ago before he joined the Marines, reunited via social media and plan to wed in the Bahamas in December 2013.

Rachel Tringali of Astoria, N.Y., is scheduled to marry Army Sgt. Robert Marston in a civil ceremony later this year before he deploys to Korea. She will have to plan their church wedding mostly on her own before he returns in early 2014.ball gown wedding dress

“Rob and I are paying for everything. I work, and he's working, too. Our parents can't really help us,” she said.

One strapless, crystal-dusted lace La Sposa designer gown later,Wedding Dress Shops “This is one less thing to worry about,” she said.

Sposabella owner Roberta Rushing booked nine appointments on Sunday with military brides-to-be. While the Brides Across America program makes it clear certain restrictions may apply to the selection of gowns, Rushing gave away at least one designer dress worth $2,500.

The Justin Alexander silk and silk tulle gown was chosen by Bobbi Fuss of Newtown, who tried it on with a matching fairy-princess veil spangled, like the dress, with crystals.

“Yep! This is the one!” she said. Fuss will wear the gown on the Spirit of Philadelphia next August to marry Stanley Jakubowicz, an Iraq veteran who is a pilot in the Army Reserves and also flies a medical helicopter in Doylestown.

With several months' income lost due to illness, “This helps us a lot, moneywise,” said Fuss.

Giving away expensive dresses is a major business decision, but “When they (Brides Across America) approached us, we couldn't say no,” said Rushing.A-Line Wedding Dresses “They (veterans) sacrifice so much for us.”

Prospective brides, aided by sisters, mothers and friends, tried on dresses from Sposabella's ruffled, lacy, sequined and satiny inventory.

This was not a preordained destination for Akers, who said she “wasn't the girl who always dreamed about the perfect wedding. This is my first time dress shopping, at all, ever.”

Eyeing a sleeveless dress with a ruffled neckline, Akers said she imagined that she'd end up walking down the aisle in a $99 dress. “To think I actually have options for designer (apparel)!” she said.

Akers tried on several dresses, including a strapless gown with a pleated satin waistband and an embroidered lace train; then a draped, one-shoulder Greek goddess dress dusted with crystals that her mother, Janet, said was more appropriate for an officers' ball.

Akers settled on a La Sposa dress with a rhinestone-embroidered bodice and straps and a tiered skirt with a train she plans to cut back. “It's an outdoor wedding,” she explained.

“It means a lot to Jessica, the fact of the military,Halter Wedding Dresses and it being a gift,” said Akers' sister, Julie Darling. “It really means more than buying a dress.”

It was a common sentiment among the military brides-to-be. “Our budget was next to none,” said Bernice Terry, who hoped to find a mermaid gown for her island wedding. “It means a lot to both of us.”