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Thank You
 Welcome to the official
wedding web page for Heather and
Michael Schneider. We are glad you stopped by and hope
that you'll enjoy finding out a little bit about us, our wedding party
and the details about our big day! We would like to thank
everyone who helped us celebrate our wedding weekend on Saturday,
November 3 and Sunday, November 4, 2007!
How We Met
Our love story is one
very fitting for the 21st century. We had both struggled to
find that special someone to spend our life with or even just to date.
The answer for us was to join an on-line dating site and luckily we
both chose
eHarmony.com. We were both on the service for awhile, although
Heather was on for a pretty long time before Mike came along.
We went through the
e-harmony process very quickly and were soon e-mailing like crazy. It
didn’t take long before we were talking on the phone and getting to
have those first, somewhat awkward conversations. There were even some
early conversations while Heather was visiting the Speakes in North
Carolina. The first date happened on November 6, 2005 at the Olive
Garden. We sat and talked for over four hours! We both left knowing
we’d had a good time, but unsure where things were going to go. There
were a few more dates that month and by the third one we knew we were
going to give this a real chance to see where it would go.
It has obviously gone
pretty well! In our time together we’ve been through buying a house,
job changes, vacationing, introducing Mike to a rather large family,
and losing loved ones. It has been a picture of what life is really
like, and together we’ve gotten through them all. We hope you will be
able to attend the wedding and maybe even one of our receptions. We
are excited to have you join us as we begin the next chapter of our
lives together!
The Proposal
 When it came time for Mike to
pop the question, there seemed no better place to him than the
Infinity Room at House on the Rock in Spring Green, WI. However,
the story begins long before that when Heather and Mike went there for
the first time on New Year's Day 2006. Their first trip down the
218-foot stretch of glassed-in, unsupported framework had Mike leaving
with the thought that a return trip to House on the Rock would be
possible, but not to the Infinity Room. If you've ever taken the walk
yourself, you know how scary it can be standing 200 feet above the
valley.
Fast forward to November of 2006. The
ring shopping was well underway, having begun on the anniversary of
Heather and Mike's first date. But it was a hospice trip to visit
Mike's dying great Aunt Mary that would prove to land the ring of
Heather's dreams, even if she wouldn't know it for another month.
 On the way back from their visit,
Heather and Mike - well, make that Heather - spotted an estate shop,
which was just the kind of place she had imagined finding her ring.
Find it they did, but did Mike really buy it? The answer, unbeknownst
to Heather at that point, is yes. Mike made Heather wait out in the
car while he made the decision.
Nearly one month and many, many "Did
you get THE ring?" questions later, Mike convinced Heather to
travel once again to House on the Rock with some persuasive help from
David and Judy Kaiser. Despite Heather's heightened awareness to
everything Mike was doing and everywhere he was going from the moment
she knew he had a ring, she had no clue that the proposal would be
taking place here and with the ring she so badly wanted. Mike chose
the Infinity Room for several wedding-appropriate reasons, including
the symbolism in its name, for the knee-knocking sensation it causes,
and for the fact that it's hard for someone to say no when they're
standing 200 feet above a valley. Just kidding about that last one!
 Mike got down on one knee, and the
rest, as they say, is history. Heather responded with a resounding "of
course!," and best of all, the Kaisers got several great shots of the
proposal, which Heather and Mike are thrilled to share with you on
this site!
A Little Bit About
Heather
I grew up on a horse
farm near Denmark, Wisconsin. I am the oldest daughter of Charles and
Elaine Fuerniss and have two sisters. Sarah came along two years
after I did and Michelle was adopted 9 years later. My childhood was filled with horseshows,
4-H, church activities and as many books as I could squeeze in. I am a
total Wisconsin girl, although my parents moved to Kentucky when I was in
high school. I graduated from Denmark High School in 1994 and headed
off to Marquette that fall.
I was recruited to sell
books late in my freshman year at MU and found it to be the most
challenging, but rewarding experience I could ever imagine in a summer
job. If you aren't familiar with the program, it involves moving in
with a host family in another state and selling books door-to-door for
over 84 hours/week all summer. It is a unique experience which helped
me grow as a person and graduate from Marquette debt-free. I recruited
teams of fellow students to sell with me and built a large enough
group that I was offered a sales manager position during my senior
year. I graduated from Marquette with a degree in English with minors
in Biology and Chemistry.
I stayed with SW for 8
years, at which time I decided I didn't want to be on the road
anymore. I accepted a position with Great American Opportunities five
years ago and now work with schools in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth
counties. I help school groups raise money for all the things that the
budget doesn't cover by selling cookie dough, magazines, discount
cards and gift wrap. If you've ever supported a student doing a
fundraiser there is a chance that you've tried our products!
I also enjoy
scrapbooking, which has lead to a new venture. Mike designed a website
for me to advertise my skills to the world,
www.pagesbyheather.com, and I'm enjoying making scrapbooks for
other people now. I still love to read, spend a lot of time cooking,
and love my animals. My dog, Laredo, couldn't be happier that
Mike is joining the family as she worships the ground he walks on.
Roma is my cat and she is also a big fan of Mike's
—
she just wishes we'd get rid of the dog! I'm still a country
girl at heart and look forward to moving out of the city in the near
future.
A Little Bit About Mike
My life began in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Wisconsin, where
I was raised by my parents, Paul and Nancy. One of the first points of
interest in my relationship with Heather is that the sizes of our
families are very different. Whereas she has more aunts, uncles, and
cousins than you could possibly count without keeping written track,
I'm the only child of an only child (my father). I have only a handful
of cousins on my mom's side, which is just a bit different from the
Fuerniss-Geisler side of things!
Music is an interest that
was instilled in me at a very young age. I always had some kind of
plastic instrument nearby, my mom would play her piano, and from time
to time, my dad would bring his accordion out and play it. Little did
I know then that I would be playing professionally today. I've been
fortunate enough to have appeared on the front page of the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, the Food Network, the Reitman and Mueller show, and
most recently, "It's Happiness: The Polka Movie." For more information
about my band, visit my website at
www.mikeschneiderband.com.
Speaking of websites, by
day I'm a self-employed graphic designer. I maintain the websites and
layout all print materials for the Wisconsin EMS Association. I also
perform similar duties for the Iowa EMS Association. I'm most excited
at this point about my newest business venture:
Mike
Schneider Designs. I've noticed that there seems to be a need for
quality, affordable website design and maintenance services, and am
looking forward to offering what I do to a growing number of clients.
Visit
www.mikeschneiderdesigns.com for more information. I'm pleased to
say I designed this site from scratch, as well as sites for my fiance,
Heather, my band, and even two members of the wedding party!
When I'm not playing music
or working in the graphic arts field, I'm more than likely found
golfing, playing a board game or Mario Kart with Heather, or sleeping.
I'm also the outcome of an entirely Catholic education, following in
my father's footsteps by attending Our Lady of Good Hope Grade School
and Dominican High School, and then graduating college from Cardinal
Stritch University with a degree in marketing.
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