Brides Across America 2020
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We were so excited to be able to host our second annual Brides Across America event this past July! Brides Across America is a not-for-profit organization that partners with bridal boutiques across the U.S. in gifting weddings and wedding gowns to our military and first responders. As 2020 has been a year like no other, Brides Across America decided to open their program up to the selfless frontline workers fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
We received such a great response to our event this year that we decided to open it up for two days. Between July 9 & 10 we were able to host 23 military brides, first responders & frontline workers in our boutique. It was an honor to be able to give back to our community this way, and we were so happy to work with so many exceptional women who may not normally have the opportunity, time or resources to shop for a wedding gown. This year we ended up doubling our 2019 donation and gave away nearly $53,000 in wedding dresses & accessories!
We were lucky enough to have the talented Hannah Rosie with us to photograph some of these amazing women. Thank you to those who attended for all that you do to help our community!
“Whether it’s for love of country or love at the altar, our military and first repsonders deserve our very best. Since 2008, Brides Across America has played a role in making their dreams come true by giving a military or first responder bride a free wedding gown during an “Operation Wedding Gown Event”.
To date we have gifted over 24,000 wedding dresses and over 22 free weddings. Each year we host dozens of Operation Wedding Gown giveaway events at participating bridal salons nationwide. Events are held in July (around Independence Day) and November (around Veteran’s Day).”
We were able to chat with some of our brides from this event and get their perspectives on their experiences. We are so humbled to hear how they are risking their lives, day in and day out to keep us all protected. We are thrilled to be able to bring some joy and light to them, especially during these last few months. One of our BAA brides, Danielle, works on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic and hearing her words makes our hearts smile!
I’m a Respiratory Therapist at Albany Medical Center. Our jobs as RTs are up close and personal on the COVID front. The past few months have been trying times with all of the incoming information and ever changing policy and procedures.
I got engaged in May and unfortunately haven’t been able to celebrate my engagement with family and friends like I would have liked. Wedding planning right now is a bit different .
When I found out from a coworker about the Brides Across America program with Lily Saratoga I was insanely excited but never thought I would get in. I was absolutely stunned with my dress I found at Lily’s and I am so grateful for this experience! It brought so much joy to these times for me.
Thanks for recognizing front line healthcare workers! It means so much!
I tell everyone this story!
Danielle Cogan
“I’d like to thank you for being such selfless and compassionate people, you’re forever part of many couple’s lives as we embark on a journey of faith, love and happiness with our significant partner! ”
BAA bride, Naomi, was sweet enough to share her story with us. We love hearing about how love prevails even through life’s hardships. Not only is she a US Army Veteran, but she stepped up to battle the Covid-19 crisis. We are so honored to have been able to help Naomi find the perfect bridal gown and give back to this amazing couple!
“When I first met Sergio, I couldn’t put my finger on as to why I saw him substantially unique. We have countless commonalities, yet significantly different personalities and despite it all, our cores coincide in desires, emotions, needs, values, and the will to fight for tomorrow.
Our financial picture is not ideal however we’d like to be able to create an intimate and memorable moment with our closest family and friends (no more than 50). We hope to create those memories in Watertown, NY in January 2021. To date what we know for certain is that our ceremony will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Massey.
I met Sergio when I returned home to Hawai’i for my step father’s one-year passing anniversary. At this point in my life, the air I breathed was finally life giving. Living in the Pacific Northwest healed me from a tiresome divorce and the unforgiving journey that an inconclusive virus imprinted on my life after being deployed to South America with the U.S. Navy.
Online has become a norm and as two working and career driven adults, it’s how we met. A few days later, we shared a meal, played a terrible game of pub trivia and engaged in a timeless conversation. Our connection was naturally genuine and so we dove right in and became inseparable. My daughters Elizabeth and Bridget were witness to a real partnership and family, they called him dad of their own free will. We relocated to Fort Drum, New York and after trying for a year, discovered we were expecting! In late February 2020, Sergio deployed for the sixth time, a nine-month deployment to the foothills of the Afghanistan mountains. Assigned to a desolate post, he leads twenty-three soldiers, attached to special operations unit.
Sergio is a humble, decorated, Senior Non Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army. Having received a purple heart for being wounded in action and inducted into the Order of Saint Maurice having made significant contributions to the infantry while deployed during the invasion of Iraq, he is undoubtedly a brave and selfless man. I am beyond proud of him, yet fearful for war’s uncertainties. Because I was a high-risk pregnancy, the girls and I returned to Hawai’i where I would give birth surrounded by support. The fairytale was over, all my anxieties surfaced. Sergio kept us strong; through independent counseling, virtual couple’s therapy and couple’s faith-based learning to marry in the catholic church. We continue to become closer and stronger, together. Then, the pandemic occurred and what was originally a thirteen-week follow-up, turned into scheduling a next day dilation and curettage; we lost our baby.
After our loss, I felt an immense calling and volunteered for the state’s only mobile COVID-19 task force to utilize my military and medical work experience on the frontlines. My mother, whom we were living with was not pleased with me volunteering and demanded I stop or immediately vacate with my children. At first, Sergio wasn’t pleased with my involvement either, but we communicate exceptionally well, and he realized that our heart to serve is greater than fear. Me and my daughters have been temporarily living with my aunt until we return to Watertown, New York (where Sergio’s unit is home based) on June 9th 2020.
Year 2020 has presented itself with a relentless mound of hardships. However, the storm doesn’t last forever and in each other through our growth, we have found our family’s place in Walden (Henry David Thoreau reference). We look forward to the day where we can start 2021 anew!
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Thank you to all of the brides who participated in this event with us! It was a pleasure to give back to you for all your service. Your courage and determination are a constant reminder of how you nobally protect and serve your communities everyday. We are already excited to give back again at next years Brides Across America Event!