A Transatlantic Love Story & Engagement Session: Madison & Manuel

I’ve such an adorable couple and love shoot to share with you all today. Madison & Manuel made their transatlantic love affair last and will be getting married in Germany in 2017.

Read on for their sweet love story and a gorgeous engagement shoot by Carito Photography – that includes pet dog Charlie – their ridiculously cute golden retriever poodle.

How did you meet? Fall in love? Any other cute / interesting / fun details / facts about you both?

Manuel and I met in Milwaukee, WI about two weeks after he arrived there for a 6 month work experience. I had moved to Milwaukee for work about 1 year prior. We met in a bar and I was intrigued by Manuel’s unique (German) accent. We started seeing each other regularly and within a month we had made our relationship official.

It was hard once we truly started falling in love because we both knew that our relationship was going to be a difficult one – since we had lives on different sides of the world. However, when life gives you a chance at a love like ours, we knew that we would do whatever we could to stay together.

Manuel extended his work permit another 6 months, and we took a two week trip to Germany to see his family and friends (and see if I could see myself living there). While the language barrier was difficult, I fell in love with Germany and after that trip we both knew that I would be moving there with Manuel after his year in the US was up.

Making the decision to leave my entire life behind was a really tough one (thank goodness for Skype!) However, I can’t picture my life without Manuel in it. He always knows just what I need to cheer me up. When I am missing my family and the US, he always does little things to show me that he cares.

One example is that he always plays Froggy 98, my favorite radio station from my hometown (Lincoln, Nebraska) so I can hear all about what is going on there. And he does whatever it takes just to make me smile again.

The Proposal

Manuel and I had been discussing marriage for awhile. We knew that we both wanted to take the next step, we just weren’t sure when that would happen. However, when we went back over the holidays to visit family in the US, Manuel asked my parents for permission to marry me. They were just as ecstatic as I was!

When Manuel and I returned to Germany at the beginning of January, it was all I could think about! I was ready to start planning and get the ball rolling. However, a few days went by, then weeks, and then over a month, until finally Manuel asked if I would go to dinner with him that Friday at a fancy restaurant. I thought to myself that “this has to be when it is going to happen!” We went to dinner and had a great time, but he still didn’t ask me. The next morning, I was reading in the living room when he came in and nervously got down on one knee (with Charlie our dog next to him) and asked me to spend the rest of my life with them. It was exactly one year after I moved to Germany.

Manuel kept searching for the perfect time to still have me be surprised and it be romantic. He thought if he asked me at dinner I would be expecting it (which I was) and he wanted to make it special (hence the date). The ring he selected is beyond perfect. It fits my personality and style and it is so unique! I love that it forms a flower and I still can’t help but smile every time I glance down at my hand.

The Marriage

We will be tying the knot on July 8th, 2017 at St. Ulrich Church in Seeg, Germany. This is the small town that Manuel grew up in, and where many of his family and friends still live. The church is absolutely stunning! Our wedding will be small (by US standards) with about 90 of our closest friends and family.

We are expecting about 40 people to make the journey over from the US and so we plan on making it a great time for everyone! Everything will switch between English and German and we are working on incorporating both cultures into the ceremony and party.

We are going for a romantic theme (much like our engagement pictures) for our formal affair which fits in well with the surrounding castles (Neuschwanstein Castle is very close by).

Love Quotes

I knew it was love when… Manuel…

While I can’t pick out a specific moment in time, I slowly felt closer to her by spending time with her and having new adventures. The first time I told I love her was on St. Patrick’s Day after coming back from vacation. While being away from her, I couldn’t stop thinking about her cute smile. :)

I knew it was love when… Madison…

I knew I was in love on St. Patrick’s Day 2014 when I had gone out with some friends to celebrate. Manuel was flying back in from New York and I felt very strange not having him there to go out with us.

We ended up picking him up at the airport later that night and I remember thinking, I hope we don’t have to be apart like this again (although he was only gone a few days). I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be with someone who made me miss them so much and that was the night that we first told each other that we loved them.

However, the moment I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Manuel was when we were visiting Germany and we were with him friends. Although I couldn’t understand what they were saying in German, Manuel was translating.

He said that his friend asked what we were going to do when Manuel’s work visa expired and he came back to Germany. Without missing a beat, Manuel said that he would of course bring me with him. I knew right then that he was right and that we would do whatever necessary in order to stay together.

We love Madison’s choice of a pantone inspired serenity tulle skirt. So stylish! And don’t they make the loveliest couple?!

Congratulations Manuel & Madison.

shoot credits / photographer: carito photography

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