Our Story

We first met on a soft, bright Sunday, October morning in Berlin, 2021. Both of us had just immigrated to Germany and settled in Berlin. Through our friends, we both managed to get our feet on the ground in Berlin. By those same mutual friends, we were both invited to a cozy waffle brunch.

 

Weeks went by, and we were, again, separately invited to more group meals and adventures with our friends. We even started up the same improvisational opera troupe, Bad Opera. We were seeing each other more and more. Both of us noticed each other but didn't do anything more. Until one Sunday, Michaela expressed her absolute awkwardness in speaking German. Jonathan, hearing this, quickly grabbed the opportunity. He asked Michaela if she would like private German lessons with him. To his joy, she accepted. Our first lesson was just pure chemistry, but shyly, we still kept things strictly professional. We had scheduled to meet only for an hour and found ourselves speaking German for three, not wanting to say goodbye.

 

Quickly, we scheduled another lesson and realized our German lessons had become dates (though we didn't dare to admit the truth). We saw each other more and more. We started to have dinners together, just the two of us, and talked for hours. Our love was growing, and finally, after we again stayed way too long together after hours in a restaurant, Jonathan asked Michaela on an official date. Jonathan was about to visit Copenhagen for 10 days and wanted to make sure that Michaela knew he was serious before leaving the country, so she would still be there when he came back. So we planned to have our first real date the day after Jonathan came back to Berlin. However, that wasn’t the case. The day Jonathan got back, neither of us could wait to see each other. Jonathan texted Michaela, stating he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow, and that we should have a pizza date right here and now. Michaela, overjoyed, rushed to see him. The day after, we met again for our first date, which was now our second date. We were so in love already that Jonathan asked Michaela to be his girlfriend. A week went by, and it was Jonathan's birthday. As a gift, he invited Michaela to Paris with him.

 

A few weeks later, Jonathan got a job as an opera singer in Hamburg, while Michaela was in Berlin. We took the train every moment we could to see each other, and we felt no distance could separate us. For many months we lived like this. Our love grew steadily every day that went by.

 

Then Michaela got an internship at The Juilliard School, in NYC. We were both excited and scared, but we knew that our love was strong enough to cover even that distance. There were long phone calls every day at Michaela’s 5 pm and Jonathan's 11 pm when Michaela got off from work in NYC and before Jonathan went to bed in Hamburg.

 

It was hard, but we navigated through it by hearing each other's voices on the phone. We went through joys, frustrations, and would continuously plan for the next time we would see each other to keep each day filled with purpose. We learned how to communicate and be honest during this time. However, when one of us did fly across the ocean, and we met again, every gray day vanished and was forgotten. It was like no time had passed. Christmas 2022 was one of those times. Michaela came to visit Jonathan’s family to experience her first Danish Christmas. As a Christmas present, Jonathan gave Michaela a trip back to Berlin, before she had to fly to NYC.

 

On the 29th of December 2022, we spent the day in Berlin, walking all the areas we used to roam when we first met. We walked through Tiergarten, where Michaela suddenly said, “If you were to propose to me, right now, I wouldn’t say no.” That was exactly what Jonathan had planned, but this exclamation took the element of surprise away. Jonathan decided, that maybe the proposal was not meant for the lush beauty of Tiergarten or its bridges. Luckily, Michaela foiled that first attempt, because there was something even better ahead of us. Later that night, Jonathan took Michaela to the opera, where we watched La bohème. As the opera played through, Jonathan couldn’t focus on anything other than how to propose. Maybe during the love aria? Maybe in the finale of Act 1? Maybe not? Concerned Michaela wouldn't have the opportunity to say no, or a good option to walk away during the performance, he decided to wait as the night slipped by. No, he needed a different idea.

 

After it was all done, and Jonathan's hands had really started to become sweaty after constantly checking his inner pocket to see if the ring was still there, Michaela saw the Berliner Dom Church glowing across the river from the opera. Drawn to the old city she said: “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we went for a walk to the church?”. Jonathan replied immediately “Yes, it would”. He grabbed Micheala’s hand in excitement and almost dragged her to the steps in front of the church. The church towered above us and glowed with a single giant Christmas star that hung over the top of the steps. We both walked up the steps together and, finally, under the light of the star, surrounded by ornate mosaics of the divine, Jonathan bent his knee, took out the ring, and proceeded to say the golden words.

 

Michaela said "Yes", and in that instant, completely by coincidence, some Berliners set off fireworks in the square in front of the church. As if the whole universe was leaping and celebrating with our own hearts at that moment. From there, we have been fighting with bureaucracy and immigration laws to allow us to live together as a married couple. After many sleepless nights, we have finally won the right to live together in Denmark. We are so happy to celebrate the joining of our lives together with all of you. Jonathan and Michaela hope you will participate in that celebration with us. We look forward to sharing our very special day with you.

 

With much love,

Michaela and Jonathan