Blog / Real Brides -
Casablanca Bridal x LoveStories: Real Bride, Abby Peach
Every girl dreams of the day she gets engaged! It seems like there is more pressure as the years go by for engagements to be a grand display of love. Some people have even opted to allow event planning companies pull together all the photo worthy details. And although the pictures are important, there is something very special about your person planning an engagement all on their own!
Sometimes the most heartfelt moments are spontaneous and different than the main stream. We love reading proposal stories from our Casablanca brides and we have to say, this one is quite unique!
We are so excited to be featuring Abby Mildner and her LoveStories wedding video. Keep reading for some great proposal advice and her surprise engagment...
How did Casablanca Bridal make your wedding day special? Why did you choose to celebrate forever in one of our gowns?
My first bridal store experience was supposed to be Kleinfield’s. We had a dress appointment the same week that the world shut down. So, when I went dress shopping at the store I found my dress in, I had already made up my mind that I would not find “the one” at The White Orchid. It didn’t fit my vision of what I thought the bridal store experience would look like; it was a small, family run store with a curated selection and nothing was over $3,000. While I wanted to be realistic about a budget, I was prepared to find a dress with a designer price tag. But… I knew I was wrong the moment I stepped into the Gia dress. I didn’t want to take it off and I began to compare every single dress I ever tried on after that to the Gia dress, even at other bridal stores/boutiques. It became very clear that I had found “THE ONE”. Not to mention, the price point was dreamy, at a little over $1,000.
It had to stand out, in a classy way, and this dress was exactly that. It was timeless and romantic. I always loved the way wedding dresses looked with the buttons down the back, an ageless feature. I loved the illusion of the low back with the asymmetrical placement of the floral appliques, which tied into our enchanted wedding vision. The fabric itself was unique too; the curved current with the added sparkle was just the right amount of “bling” without the added heaviness of full beading. And the best part… the fit. It was, hands down, the most flattering and comfortable dress I had tried on, which allowed me to feel confident and secure in it on the dance floor all night.
What drew to our company?
What drew me to Casablanca was definitely the artistry. The more I was drawn to this particular dress, the more I searched additional dresses on the website. Each dress has unique designs and appliques that make the dresses stand out, at a price that isn’t intimidating. I was comparing my $1,200 dress to a $9,000 dress of another designer. When it came down to a decision, I couldn’t pass up how I FELT in my Casablanca Gia dress… timeless. I knew I was picking a dress that I would look back on and be able to confidently say I would pick the same dress time and time again. Shop Abby's dress here!
How did you meet your husband?
I met my husband in a bar, which turned out to be HIS bar, that he owned. I visited the bar with my friends and roommate, who slipped him my number. When he didn’t call or text, we returned to the bar another time to confront him. Turns out, he had myself and my roommate mixed up (good news for me, not exactly a compliment for her). The rest was history. – As one of my gifts to him for our wedding, I got him cufflinks with the coordinates to his bar (The Summit PGH – where we met) engraved on one link, and the coordinates of our wedding location engraved on the other link.
When and how did he propose?
I always had rules for proposals… we live in Pittsburgh where the most popular place to get engaged is overlooking the city on Mt. Washington, which was where his bar is located. While it was still a special location to us, it was also special to hundreds of other people too. I didn’t want to share the same engagement story as hundreds of other couples.
Rules:
1. Ask my dad for permission.
2. Make sure my nails are painted.
3. Don’t propose on the Mt. Washington overlook.
4. Don’t propose on a holiday or birthday.
5. Pick somewhere meaningful.
So… On what felt like a random Monday in November (11/25/19) – which was my grandmother’s birthday – we went to Allegheny Cemetery, one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the city – where we also did our engagement photos. It’s a special cemetery to me, as I was very close with my grandparents and they were my first REAL loss. When I want to escape, I go visit the cemetery. On that day, while we were visiting my grandparents grave, we decided to try to find my great grandparents grave, in a different part of the cemetery. Once we found it, there was a bench nearby. Dan (my husband) asked me to sit with him on the bench. He reached into his pocket, for what I thought was a pocket full of acorns he had been collecting, getting ready to launch at me in an ambush as a joke, only to realize he was getting down on one knee. My first response was “did you ask my dad?”… then “YES!” of course. We got engaged in a cemetery.
What does “celebrate forever” mean to you? How has this saying been expressed in your marriage?
One thing Dan and I said going into our wedding planning was that we wanted to throw a party – not necessarily following the traditional wedding guidelines. It was most important to us that we were surrounded with friends and family that wanted to “celebrate forever” WITH us for all the years to come, not just celebrate one night. To this day, every time we sit down to have a drink or enjoy company with friends and family, we make sure to have a celebratory toast to the moment. Sometimes it’s milestones, accomplishments, projects, and sometimes it’s just to us and good health – but we’re forever celebrating each other.
What advice do you have for bride-to-be’s and newly married couples? What is the secret to keeping your marriage alive?
Advice for brides-to-be: We actually set up our venue and décor (with help from friends and family) AND tore down the next morning. We crafted our own cocktails and bottled them together to use as a seating chart and favor. Having actively contributed to our special day made it so much more rewarding for us. EXHAUSTING, but rewarding. It felt surreal to see our vision come to life with our hard work. I recommend picking one part of your wedding – even just creating vs. purchasing favors – for the soon-to-be bride and groom to be hands-on, involved in together.
One piece of marriage advice: as cliché as it sounds, never go to bed or leave home without telling one another “I love you”, even if you do it in the grumpiest of voices, you’ll never regret saying it too much.
Photographer/Videographer: @km_photoandfilms
