We're Getting married!

It all started in 2019, at a Thanksgiving dinner party. Mariana wanted to strike up a conversation with Emil, but Emil was more interested in chatting with the Swedish girl at the table—after all, as a Norwegian, he just wanted to speak his language! Luckily, fate had other plans. Soon after, we began spending more time together—meeting at the library, grabbing meals at the University Dining Hall, and hanging out with the international student group. That Christmas, while apart, we kept in touch by sending each other Snapchats about our holidays. When we returned to Bellarmine, we both went to the Field Hockey formal. Funny enough, we were actually trying to set up two of our friends that night, but in the process, realized that maybe we had something special. A week later, Emil asked Mariana if she’d like to go on dates, and she said yes. Our first date was at Sunergos Coffee—a spot that quickly became “our” coffee shop. On February 7, 2020, we made it official. Just a month later, COVID hit, and Emil had to return to Norway. Despite the distance, we decided to try long distance. We had FaceTime dates, watched movies together, and by June, though we didn’t know when we’d see each other again, we chose to stay committed. Emil eventually returned to the States, and we were overjoyed to spend a full year together—before going back to long distance in summer 2021. That summer brought our first official trip together: Cancun! We explored Chichen Itza, Tulum, Cenote Ik Kil, Xcaret, and more. Later that year, in December, Mariana visited Norway for the first time, met Emil’s family, and even relearned how to ski (with one dramatic fall to prove it!). It was during that holiday that we began talking about applying to master’s programs at NTNU in Trondheim. In spring 2022, Mariana traveled to the States to celebrate Emil’s senior night. A month later, she watched him graduate online from afar. The very next day, Mariana received the exciting news that she had been accepted to NTNU as well! That summer, Emil traveled to Mexico to meet Mariana’s family for the first time, enjoying delicious Mexican food and a trip to San Miguel de Allende. From there, we both traveled to Norway, spent time at Emil’s summer cabin, and then drove up to Trondheim together—ready to begin a new adventure side by side. Life in Trondheim has been full of beautiful memories: seeing the northern lights, celebrating birthdays together, and taking trips to places like Stavanger. In December 2023, Emil visited Mexico again, this time celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with Mariana’s entire extended family. What Mariana didn’t know was that Emil had asked her parents for her hand in marriage—he had a very special reason for that trip. 💍 We returned to NTNU for our final semester, and by May 2024, Mariana’s parents came to Norway to celebrate her graduation. During that trip, both of our parents met for the very first time. We spent a wonderful day together at Emil’s family summer cabin, and when our parents went out for a boat ride, Emil took Mariana to the front of the cabin by the fjord, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. We celebrated the moment with both of our families and shared the joyful news with friends and loved ones. Shortly after, we moved to Oslo and bought our first apartment together. We also had a small civil ceremony at Oslo Rådhuset with our closest family and witnesses—so yes, we are already married! But now, we cannot wait to celebrate our religious ceremony and wedding party surrounded by friends and family from all over the world. We are so excited for this next chapter of our journey and can’t wait to share it with you!