Our story

We met at a bar in downtown Manchester while we were each out with our respective group of friends. Michael, being the delightfully charming man that he is, asked Anja to dance, and the rest is (almost) history. It took about 6 weeks before we actually went out on their first date (because Anja worked in events & Michael didn't consider asking Anja out on a weeknight, haha!). But once we did, it was evident that this would become something special, even if both of us were a little too reluctant to admit it just yet.

For about 4 months, we spent most of our free time talking, when we weren't together, and slowly meeting each other's families and friends. By Christmas time of 2018, we finally slapped a title on what we were doing, but still were reluctant to call it what it was. Anja loved how sweet Michael was, his (sometimes ridiculous) dance moves, and how much he loved our animals. Michael loved Anja's sweet eyes, love of helping people, and laughing at her awkwardly stumble and erratically drop things. But mostly, each of us loved how much we loved each other.

After 1.5 years, we decided that if we could get through a pandemic together, we could get through anything. We moved into our apartment with our first two animal babies, Mona and Tessie, before adopting two more (when we realized we had no self-control) - Maisy, our kitten, and Becky, our iconic Frenchie. We went through many Ikea builds and furniture moves; basically, we were indestructible as partners.

That served us well when we decided to uproot our lives for a new adventure in Dallas, TX. With 4 animals and lots of snacks, we made the 27-hour trek to our new home, and that's where the whirlwind begins. We started new jobs, added two more pups to the pack - Remi and Maple (see, no self-control), bought a house, got engaged, and here we are! Somehow, just over 6 years have passed since that first night at the bar in Manchester, and neither of us can seem to imagine a different life without each other. It somehow feels like 6 years have flown by, and also that we've spent our whole lives together. Michael proposed on a quiet night in our home, surrounded by our animal babies & the comfort of each other; he just couldn’t wait any longer - and it was perfect. Something tells us that this will be a life-long love, from the way that we each feel like the luckiest person to have found the other, and from how unbelievably easy it has been to be with each other.