IT'S OFFICIAL!   I'M MARRIED!!!

The Rings:
The Dress: (That's not the bride...)
But THIS is the bride! Rachel Surman:
And here is the groom (that's me!) Brad Wood:
Date:	Saturday, March 15th, 2003
Location:	Falls City First Church of the Nazarene 1812 Wilson Street Falls City, NE 68355
HERE ARE THE OFFICAL DIRECTIONS AND MAP TO THE CHURCH -- CLICKY CLICKY!!
Time:	2:00 PM
Colors:	Indigo Blue and Pale Yellow
Maid Of Honor: Bridesmaids:	Andrea Jenkins Ginger Wood Rebecca Schowengerdt Keli Anno
Best Man: Groomsmen:	Eric Johnathon Anderson Jeremiah Reynolds John Robertson
Ministers:	(Grandpa) Frank Kelley; Ralph Wood
Ushers:	Jase Atkins Cody Ramer Daniel Hofferbert
Candle Lighters:	Chase Ramer Cole Ramer
Ring Bearers:	Logan Anno Harrison Schowengerdt
Song by Brad Schowengerdt	Love of My Life by Michael W. Smith
Song by Bradley Wood	Proposal Song by Bradley Wood
Reading by Ms. Wanda Biel	1 Corinthians Chpt. 13

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How I asked her.

I proposed to my girlfriend on Saturday September, 7th 2002. We began dating on December 11th, 2000; so that was just two days before our 21 month anniversary. Rachel was not waiting on me to ask her in order to plan for her wedding. Weeks before she had already bought a wedding dress, picked a "date" and done planning. Of course we had talked about these things, but I had not officially asked her "the question". Rachel and I had gone to Heilzburg Diamonds about three weeks before I asked her, purchased the engagement ring, and put wedding bands on layaway. Some people tell me, "Oh, you did it ALL WRONG-- it's not supposed to go in THAT ORDER!" I usually tell them to go play in a freeway 'cause that is just the way we did it. ;->           A good friend named John Robertson came up with the main idea that we used the night I proposed and helped me do most of my planning. John's website can be found here. He is a hopeless romantic, but unfortunately he is still single. Don't miss this chance! Anyway-- the Saturday I asked "the biggie", Rachel worked until 7:30 pm that night, so John and I arranged a scavenger hunt around the Olathe area. We used the Gazebo on MNU's campus, the Gazebo in downtown Olathe (by the courthouse in the middle of the Old Settlers celebration that was going on), and the Gazebo on the edge of Frisco Lake, Olathe. When Rachel arrived home from work she was informed by her roommate (who was an accomplice to our plan) that she should freshen up and dress to impress. She was then led to the first Gazebo where there was a note and the coordinates of the second location. That's right-- latitude and longitude. Rachel had to use a handheld GPS (global positioning satellite) to navigate across town and find each suceeding waypoint. At each location, was a friend bearing a note that contained some scripture verse pertaining to good characteristics of a Godly woman and possibly a task to accomplish. The final destination that the hunt led her to was a big grassy area to the side of a large biking trail on the edge of town. It was after dark, so there would be no bikers on the trail, but my jeep's headlights provided plenty of light.           So meanwhile, John and I had been busy preparing a gourmet supper for Rachel (and the roomate that was helping her). John completely devised the menu by himself. We feasted on Beef Stroganoff, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and red wine (which was really just grape juice) all served with a sprig of parsley on a large round green leaf that covered the entire plate. I'm not sure the names of the large leafs, but Wal-Mart sold them in the produce department. (We also bought baby carrots for a vegetable, but simply ran out of time when it came to making everything.) Dessert was to consist of a homemade cake, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and Whip Cream, but due to lack of appropriate kitchen utensils (namely an electric mixer) we had to forgo the making of the cake at the last minute.           So anyway, John and I -- all dressed up in a tie and everything, had all of this food laid out on a blanket with soft music playing over my jeep's stereo system. We ate dinner, and then Rachel and I took a walk while John and Kim (the previously unnamed roomate of Rachel's who helped out) cleaned up and left. Rachel and I then toasted with a bottle of sparkling cider, and I then sang a song with my guitar that I wrote for her. Right now, I have just named it the "Proposal Song", and if you want to take the time to download a 2.8 Meg file, then you can listen to me singing it here.           After that I simply got down on one knee (got UP actually since we were already sitting!) and said, "Rachel Surman, will you marry me?" She told me that she would pass it by the review board and call me back the next week-- JUST KIDDING. No, she replied with an enthusiastic "Yes!" and a hug (Heck-- she'd been BEGGING me to propose for months!).           After that we came into town and rode the ferris wheel just in time before the Old Settlers Day carnival rides shut down at midnight. Well, there you have it-- the story of one man's marriage proposal. You only get one in your life, so I intended to make it a good one! Please let me know what you think of what I did my leaving a post on my Guestbook, or you can always just Email me.