Anyone who knows Abby Schneider understands how difficult it is to keep a secret from her. So Alan Garelick had quite the challenge when he decided to propose after the two had dated for nearly four years. The couple initially had been set up by Alan’s cousin, whom Abby met on a boat ride with friends after she moved to Minnesota for work. “At first I told his cousin I wasn’t interested, but then my friend pushed me to meet this guy, so I said OK,” Abby recalls. “Alan called a few weeks later, and we started dating.” Throughout their time together, the topic of marriage came up occasionally, but they decided to take a different big step first: move in together.
“We’d only been in our new place about a week when Alan came home from work one Friday night as I was struggling to get a curtain rod up,” she says. “He was upset I wasn’t ready for date night, and I was upset he wouldn’t help me hang the rod! I promised to get ready if we could go to Home Depot after dinner.” Little did she know, Alan had a plan. A couple of weeks prior, he had made a surprise trip to St. Louis to ask Abby’s parents and brother for permission—and for her great-grandmother’s ring. “It was a team effort between all of us to keep everything a secret,” Alan says. “Abby always finds out if something is going on, and I know her parents wanted to tell everyone!”
Abby’s preoccupation with the move worked in Alan’s favor. He planned a picnic in ‘Abby’s Park,’ aptly named that by friends since it’s one of her favorite spots. “It was totally unlike our normal Friday night plans, but I wasn’t analyzing,” Abby says. “I had no idea it was happening. Alan opened a bag of mementos from our time together, which didn’t strike me as unexpected either since we were in the midst of unpacking. He pulled out a small box and inside was a velvet jewelry bag. I still was just like, Huh, I don’t remember that! Then out slid my great-grandmother’s ring and I was so confused.” Alan jumps in that she eventually answered his proposal with a ‘Yes!’ The May 2016 festivities will take place at the Saint Louis Club in a fairly traditional ceremony. “We tried to keep things simple, ” Abby says. “The focus is on bringing our two families together.”
The couple resides in Minneapolis. Abby is an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, and Alan is a middle school special education teacher.
ceremony
Ceremony | Saint Louis Club
Reception | Saint Louis Club
Photographer | Kathie Belfield of Memories are Forever
Gown | Pronovias
Cake | Saint Louis Club
Florist | Floral Jaz
Honeymoon | South Africa
Wedding Party
Participants | Siblings Nancy Weisberg, Lindsey Tjernlund and Adam Schneider will walk down the aisle.
Flower Girls | Sasha Tjernlund and Milly Weisberg
Ring Bearer | Zachary Weisberg
Bride’s Parents | Terry & Jamie Schneider of Clayton
Groom’s Parents | Kenneth &Molly Garelick of St. Paul, Minnesota
Photo: Kathie Belfield of Memories Are Forever