Wedding caps Valentine week for state rep and his bride
RIDLEY PARK » As an infantryman in the U.S. Army and a staff sergeant in the Army National Guard, state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162 of Ridley Park, has been around the world a few times. However, it was here on his home turf of Delaware County that he found the love of his life. This week will be a whirlwind of romance and wedding bells for him and his fiancée Rachel Schwalm. The couple, shot by Cupid with a double arrow, will not only celebrate Valentine’s Day together on Wednesday, but will get married on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Miccarelli said it didn’t take too many dates with Schwalm to realize that she was “the one.” He first laid eyes on her in 2015, began dating her in 2016 and popped the question in 2017.
“When you know, you just know,” he said with a smile.
Schwalm, 25, was born and raised in Central Pennsylvania. As a teenager, she moved to Mechanicsburg, Pa., and then attended West Chester University to study political science. She interned for state Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160 of Upper Chichester. After she graduated from WCU, Barrar hired Schwalm as a legislative assistant, a position that she still holds at his Chadds Ford office.
Miccarelli, 35, has served in the 162nd Legislative District since 2008. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he was first elected to office when he was only 26 years old. Miccarelli is on the House Human Services, Liquor Control, Consumer Affairs, and Appropriations committees.
In 2009, Miccarelli deployed to Iraq as a member of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade. During his tour of duty he served with B Company 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion as a door gunner on a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. Previous to being elected to public office, he also was stationed in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006 and Kosovo in 2003-04 on a peace-keeping mission. He has been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Before being elected to House of Representatives, Miccarelli served as chief of staff for former state Rep. Ron Raymond and was a Ridley Park councilman.
In 2015, Schwalm attended Barrar’s Christmas party and it was there that she met Miccarelli for the very first time.
Although they both remember the brief encounter, it wasn’t until Barrar’s 2016 Christmas party, a full year later, that Miccarelli and Schwalm began connecting on a different level.
“We talked and talked that night,” Miccarelli remembered, with a chuckle. “Steve (Barrar) came into the living room and said, ‘Yo, Nick, what’s going on in here? You haven’t left this room all night.’”
Soon after Schwalm found out that Miccarelli was going to attend a benefit fundraiser for GOP political candidate Patti Rodgers Morrisette. Schwalm asked if he wanted a date to go with him. After the benefit, Miccarelli took Schwalm to Portobello Café in Eddystone for a more intimate dinner. They were both smitten, they said, but Miccarelli was in the midst of budget negotiations in Harrisburg. It was a full six weeks later until their first official date. Miccarelli took Schwalm to dinner at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington on March 6, 2016, and the pair has been inseparable ever since.
On August 26, 2017, Miccarelli dropped on one knee in Marconi Park in South Philadelphia, pulled out an engagement ring, and asked Schwalm for her hand in marriage.
“I wore a track suit,” Miccarelli said of the memorable night. “I pointed it out, saying ‘I’ve been chasing you for a long time.’”
The couple set the date for Feb. 17, not only because it falls into the most love-filled, romantic week of the year, but also because it would be a convenient threeday weekend for most people due to the celebration of President’s
Day. They immediately began formulating their plans.
With a large wedding party of 16, Schwalm asked her best friend Brooke Craig to stand as maid of honor and Miccarelli asked his best friend Ed Reilly to serve as best man. Reilly, a Chester firefighter who is president of AIFF Local 1400, befriended Miccarelli when the two were students at Ridley Middle School.
According to Schwalm, Miccarelli will “look like a prince” on their wedding day. He plans to wear a black tux with tails and a white tie. Schwalm’s dress is relatively unadorned, yet tasteful, she said. It’s stunning, but has no beading or other fancy embellishments.
“It’s very simple because I am believe that the bride should make the dress and not the other way around,” Schwalm explained.
The wedding will take place 1:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Rose of Lima Church in Eddystone. The couple will exchange the traditional vows. They chose the same music that Princess Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, amd Prince William had at their wedding.
“I’m so excited to walk down the aisle,” Schwalm said. “To me, the wedding ceremony and Mass are the most important part of the day.”
Following the Wedding Mass, celebrated by Rev. Gerald Canavan, pastor of St. Rose’s, a reception for 400 guests will be held at the 23rd Street Armory on South 23rd Street in Philadelphia. The armory is home to the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry of which Miccarelli is a member. He rode horseback recently with the City Calvary in President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Parade. This purely volunteer cavalry troop was the first organized in defense of the colonies. Today the troop is certainly the oldest mounted military unit and quite possibly the oldest military unit of any kind that has been in continuous service to the republic. Members of the troop, dressed in uniform, will line up and form a saber arch for the couple to walk through when entering the reception venue. The couple’s first dance will be to Perry Como’s “And I Love You So,” the same song that Miccarelli’s parents danced to at their wedding.
Miccarelli said that he’s happy that he waited until he was in his 30s to marry because when he met Schwalm, there was no question that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
“In some relationships, you do things because they are expected of you,” Miccarelli said. “But with Rachel, she gives so much of herself and does so much, so lovingly, for me, that I just automatically want to do for her and make her happy.”
Miccarelli said he has exceptional role models for good, strong marriages. His parents, who married when his father was 48 and his mother was 40, were wed for 30 years. His grandparents, Nick and Diomira, were married for 73 years.
“I’ve watched my parents and grandparents stick it out when times were tough,” Miccarelli stated. “I have seen what a happy marriage looks like and I look forward to having my own.”
“Nick makes me feel calm and secure,” Schwalm interjected. “I feel really lucky. We are just a good fit and we complement each other well. Most of my girlfriends are still single. I tell them all the time that they should not settle until they feel this same way. They will know when it is true love because of the peace and serenity that they’ll feel.”
The couple plans to honeymoon in Cartagena, Columbia, a city founded in the 16th century that is a popular beach destination, known for its art and culture. When they return home, they’ll live in Ridley Park, in the same childhood home where Nick was raised. Nick’s father, Nick, now lives only five minutes away. The couple said that they hope to fill the home with many mini Miccarellis as the years go on.
Before they escape on their honeymoon, Nick and Rachel have a few days of memorable romance this week. In addition to the rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, the soon-tobe bride and groom plan on a romantic replay of their first dinner at Portobello Café when they go there on Valentine’s Day.
“We wanted to go back there, because the night at Portobello’s is what started it all,” Schwalm said.
“People tell me all the time that I got a winner, but I already know it,” Miccarelli said. “When I come home from a hard few days in Harrisburg, there is nothing that can cheer me up more than Rachel and her positivity. I joined the military when I was just 17 years old. I was deployed three times. Through the years, I saw a lot of life’s highs and a lot of life’s lows. I have to tell you that I never before felt a high like I feel when I am with Rachel.”
“And I’ve never been happier,” the bride-to-be added, smiling at her fiancé.