A gesture made inthe service of loveSoldier, fiane6ewin $7K towardfall wedding

By Gabrielle Waltergw alt e r@ e n qu i,re r. c o m

MOT]NT WASHINGTON _A local soldier and his fianceewon nearly $7,000 toward theirwedding - thanks in part to hisunusual wedding proposal.

Army National Guard Spc. An-drew Reif, 23, of Mount Wash-ington, and his fianc6e NatalleeMaggard,20 of Dublin, won themoney from Models for the Mili-tary, a volunteer organizationmade up of vendors from Bridal-rama, a wedding sales fair.

They were picked from doz-ens of applicants in part becauseof avideo they submitted, whichincluded footage of Reifs propos-al: He popped the question afterthey skydived in Middletown"He was on one knee waiting forher as she jumped out of theplane.

The couple, who will mar-ry onNov. 19, say they're gratefui notjust for winning but that some-one even put on the contest forthe military.

"People forget about the mili-tary and everything that theydo," Maggard said. "The factthat all these people are puttingso much money and time in formy wedding .. . there are nowords that I can say to ihankthem."

This was the firstyear for thecontest, said Fred Caldwell,Bridalrama's owner, but he'splanning another for Feb. 19.

lVlodels for the Military awardedthe prize to the local man.

Donations from Bridalramavendors included the weddingdress, bridesmaid dresses, fuxesand photography services. Mon-ey toward a reception hall wasalso donated, though they haveyet to choose one.

"It was like a godsend," Mag-gard said. The couple, she said,had been living paycheck to pay-check and working overtime tosave for the wedding.

'lMe were considering justhaving a courthouse wedding be-cause we couldn't afford something else," Maggard said.

Radio station Q102 promotedthe c,rmpetition and accepted appiications.

The submission video docu-mented the couple's one-year re-lationship through pictures andhearffelt sentiments.

Their commitrnent to eachother and to their country stoodout to Caldwell in their submis-sion video.

'We're making, I hope, a big-ger statement than just gMng agirl a free wedding," Caldwellsaid. "The wedding industry ofGreater Cincinnati took a mo-ment of time to show we supportnot only just this military couple,we support our military."

Provided

Army National Guard Spc. Andrew Reif and Natallee Maggard be-came engaged after skydiving.