Chwalik Then  CHWALIK.WEDDING

Date of Marriage : 10/03/2020
Did you meet before, during, or after your time at Walsh?: During
Where did you meet?: We first were introduced at an intramural basketball game. I was playing and she came to watch. Unfortunately, I was so focused during our warmups that I didn't pay much attention to the cute girl that I was meeting who would eventually become my wife!
How many children/pets?: 0 (However, children will be coming soon!)

Share Your Story :

After meeting Rachel at the intramural basketball game, she actually ended up joining our friend group. However, soccer and campus activities kept me busy so we slowly got to know one another. As it would turn out, she actually ended up dating a different guy in our friend group. This "different guy" just so happened to be my best friend and future roommate! These two ended up dating for almost all of college. Over that time, Rachel would become one of my good friends. Some nights we would stay up late and have philosophical debates. Other times, she would tell me I needed to stop being a silly college boy. It was great having her around so often; we made so many memories together at Walsh. She and her boyfriend ended up breaking up senior year. The guy was still one of my best friends and roommate so naturally, I ended up hanging out with him more than Rachel our final year at Walsh. It was a bit of a weird situation because the breakup somewhat divided our friend group, but we all still attempted to stay in touch. Graduation day came and went. As the days passed by, most of our friend group stayed intact. Rachel and I still talked occasionally and even got to visit with one another on a few occasions. However, her college boyfriend seemed to fade from our friend group almost as soon as he got his diploma. It's a sad lesson to learn, but you eventually realize that some college friends will stick with you you're entire life, but others won't. This guy was the latter. Life moved one. I went to grad school in Ireland. Rachel took a job at Walsh as an admissions counselor. Thankfully, our trusty friend group still stayed together and we actually hang out to this day! One New Year's Eve, I had a little party and invited some friends over to celebrate. Rachel just so happened to be one of those friends. While no romantic new years kiss happened that night, I did find out later that she had wanted it to! A week later we were texting and set a time to hangout. We visited some local shops, made a pie, and then watched a movie. We were sitting under a blanket together and the next thing I know, Rachel kisses me! From there, we start dating, open an ice cream shop, and get married! You never know all the curveballs life is going to through at you. Sometimes it's falling in love with your college roommate's ex-girlfriend.

The Proposal:

I was constantly thinking about asking Rachel to marry me because we'd been together for almost two years and every day still felt like that first moment where she had kissed me on that couch. However, asking someone to marry you is a massive commitment and the thought made me more than a little nervous. One day, one of my friends asked me out of the blue if I was going to marry Rachel. I told him I was thinking about it. He told me that I absolutely should because he's never met a nicer and more amazing person than Rachel. My friend is a smart guy. He was right. Rachel is such a wonderful, caring, and genuine person. I thought more about what he'd said and realized that I'd never felt the way I do about Rachel with any other girl. This one is something special. That's when I made the choice to ask her to be my wife. I took all the necessary steps of telling her friends, asking for her parent's blessing, and finding a ring. Actually, the perfect ring just so happened to be my great grandmother's ring. Edna lived in the little farm town where I was born and raised and was somewhat famous for her pies. What made the ring perfect was that it had a simple, elegant style and a deeper meaning than an expensive ring from a jeweler. But the best part was that Rachel is also somewhat famous for her delicious pies! It's amazing how things like that just workout. It was Christmas Eve, the day I was going to ask Rachel to marry me. I wanted to do it at my Grandmother's house because that's where we told each other that we loved one another for the first time. My grandmother lives in that same small farm town where Edna and I are from. She actually has a farm and a lovely little gazebo that I used to play in as a kid. I decided that the gazebo would be the place. Our family had planned to go to Christmas Eve mass and Rachel would be arriving at the church because she was working late. That gave me time to decorate the gazebo with lights and get it ready for the main event. After we returned from mass, my sister kept Rachel busy while I turned the lights on and made sure everything was perfect. It was time. For those of you not engaged quite yet, as you prepare to pop the question, your heart starts to beat faster than you can even imagine. I brought Rachel outside and covered her eyes, telling her that I was going to surprise her with her Christmas present a little early. I brought her into the center of the gazebo, got down one knee, held out Edna's ring, and told Rachel to open her eyes. When she did, she was in shock. She had no idea that I was going to ask her to marry me. I'd actually been telling her for the past few months that I wanted to wait a few more years. Thankfully, that shock eventually turned into a "yes" and now we're happily married! I actually filmed the entire day and here's the video: https://youtu.be/2Q6Vg-vA92w

Where are you now?:

We currently live in Delaware, OH. This is the city I was raised for half of my life and where my immediate family resides. However, this could be changing soon, as we're currently looking to buy our first home!