It's no secret that we love, love! We decided to celebrate love this Valentines by asking a few amazing couples to reflect on their relationship, as well as give advice for singles. From being together for 2 - 22 years, we love that we can learn from each couple as to what makes love work. Without further ado...
"Once you're truly happy with yourself, that's when you'll be ready to be happy with someone else."
Names: Allie & Sam!
Age: 27 & 25
How long have you been together? 5.5 years
How did you meet? We met on Tinder! I messaged Sam first.
Do you believe in love at first sight? I definitely do, but it wasn't for us! Haha! Sam says she knew right away, but it took me a while to be totally sure. I'm not really one to know how I feel right off the bat.
What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? Spending quality time together - no screens! We make a point to reconnect whenever we feel like we've been too busy or too consumed with other things. We also really try to keep each other's love languages in mind!
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? Be patient! Once you're truly happy with yourself, that's when you'll be ready to be happy with someone else. It took me a long time to realize that happiness needs to come from within, not from external factors. Once I realized that, it was a game changer.
Fav romantic travel memory? OMG - all of them! I truly can't pick a favourite trip, because I love every one! But, I think maybe hiking to the Hollywood Sign at sunset would be one of my top moments together.
Allie & Sam are LGTQ+ Youtubers, bloggers and entrepreneurs. Follow Allie & Sam: Instagram, YouTube, Blog.
"I'll never forget the first time I saw Nate... I didn't love him instantly but I wanted to."
Names: Nate & Dana Dorn
Age: 35 & 34
How long have you been together? 10 years dating | 9 years this March married
How did you meet? I remember the first time I saw Nate, he walked in late to the first day our portrait 101 class at Brooks Institute of Photography...we always had homework over break that was due the first day of class and this particular assignment was a self-portrait. The teacher gave harsh crits to both my photo and Nate's photo and we both publically disagreed with his opinions in front of the class. It was cute. I invited him to be apart of our group that was already formed for the first project. And after our project was complete he asked for my number in front of everyone ((blush)). We dated through college but broke up when I met someone taller. (I'm such a jerk) but it was the BEST worst decision ever because through that relationship I realized that what I had with Nate was so special we started dating again and planned a wedding 6 months later. :) When you know you know!
Do you believe in love at first sight? I'll never forget the first time I saw Nate... I didn't love him instantly but I wanted to.
What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? Communication and mutual respect.
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? Focus on becoming the right person instead of finding the right person. Finding someone to love is just as much about the right timing and perspective as it is about the actual person. Also, kiss all the frogs. hahah I treated dating like a numbers game...I asked people out that I was interested in and said yes to A date to everyone who asked me. The more people you date the more you can hone in on what you're looking for and who you want to be when you find them.
Fav romantic travel memory? Getting the idea to set up a photo with self-timer (this was before iphone cameras) while sharing a hammock in Fiji on our honeymoon but then totally touching the ground when we actually both got in. Our romantic stories are always funny. We don't know how to be serious.
Nate & Dana are wedding photographers (yes our amazing photographers!), based in California. Follow them: Instagram, Website.
"One night I drank a bit too much and kissed Maartje out of the blue"
Names: Roxanne Weijer and Maartje Hensen
Age: 26 and 24
How long have you been together? We’ve been together for 5.5 years now. And we are getting married this year when we are 6 years together!
How did you meet? We met in Amsterdam in the movie theater! While studying we both worked there as a job on the side. At first we didn’t like each other that much, but we ended up becoming (party) friends. And after a year, more happened! Maartje started to like me and dropped many hints, though I didn’t notice them at all. But then one night I drank a bit too much and kissed Maartje out of the blue. That’s how our fairytale started. Read more about it in our blog post.
Do you believe in love at first sight? We both don’t believe in love at first sight, for us it took a year to like each other that way haha. We believe we fall in love with a person and their character. Personality is important, not just the looks.
What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? Both our parents are divorced, so we know how things can go wrong. In our opinion, it’s important to do your own things (separated from each other), but also have things you love doing together; setting goals together so you grow together. Doing (too) many separate things can often lead to growing apart. Maartje and I have so many things we love to do together. As we work together, we need to plan date nights to keep the romance blooming. We go to the cinema, to a restaurant or go picnicking for example!
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? Don’t look too much, it will probably happen when you least expect it! We met in person but we love how the online world can bring people together. It’s so easy to meet other people through the internet nowadays.
Fav romantic travel memory? Definitely our first ever trip together. It was to Rome and we were super in love with each other (still, but we are probably a little less touchy now haha). Rome is an amazing city, especially for couples. We had such a magical time there and we can’t wait to go back one day.
Roxanne & Maartje are LGBTQ+ Travel Bloggers and photographers. Follow them: Instagram, Blog, Youtube.
"There was an instant attraction towards each other and we clicked very well dancing the night away."
Names: Karl and Daan
Age: 35 and 33
How long have you been together? 7 years this March
How did you meet? We met at a gay party in Berlin. Daan was visiting Karl's hometown in Germany. Already the first evening we met on the dance floor. Kinda love at first sight? We love this memory so much that we are annually going back to Berlin in March to celebrate our anniversary.
Do you believe in love at first sight? Well, yes and no. There was an instant attraction towards each other and we clicked very well dancing the night away. But the most beautiful memory about this weekend: The good-bye kiss at the airport. Karl booked the first flights to Amsterdam just one day later.
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What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? For us, it is definitely 100% honesty and the aim to talk about everything that is on one’s mind regarding the relationship.
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? Hehehe, that’s a good one. You know, we met and fell for each other in a moment, that we both were happy to be single and just wanted to enjoy this circumstance. Our minds and attitude were just free and open for what would come. We believe that is the best moment to fall in love. Being in balance with yourself and just go open-minded and with open eyes through this world, actually not searching for love.
Fav romantic travel memory? We know, we are crazy but we love Disney and all Disney Parks. So for us, Disneyland and Disney Seas in Japan was and will always be one of our most romantic destinations.
Karl & Daan are LGBTQ+ Activists, Writers, Photographers. Follow them: Instagram, Blog, Facebook, Youtube.
"Never take each other for granted, ignore the petty stuff, laugh every day, say I love you every night."
Names: Cathy & Dorry
Age: 60+
How long have you been together? 22 years
How did you meet? Cathy was Dorry client - she ran a personal growth training business and helped Cathy uncover her true heart - and her true sexuality! They both helped each other find true love, but it was not love at first site. It took almost 2 years coming to a boil!
Do you believe in love at first sight? Absolutely!!
What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? Never take each other for granted, ignore the petty stuff, laugh every day, say I love you every night.
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? It can be found in the most unexpected places! Keep your eyes open, be adventurous, don’t be fast to dismiss someone as “not your type”, love yourself!!
Fav romantic travel memory? Saying I do 22 years ago in a tiny deserted Italian chapel at Lake Como being married by a statue of Padre Pio. We were truly blessed!!
Cathy and Dorry are wedding planners based in California (yes they planned our amazing wedding!) Follow them: Website, Instagram, Facebook.
"Stop waiting for Prince charming! They're probably lost in the woods or something haha so just go out & find them queens!"
Names: Ryan & Andrei
Age: 27 and 29
How long have you been together? 2 years, 3 months, 25 days, 10 hours, 42 minutes - I know this because I took a selfie at 10:10pm right before we met on our first date and we've been together ever since that very first date lol.
How did you meet? It's a funny 21st-century love story. I (Ryan) was in Ireland traveling with a flight booked to Romania that week and signed onto Tinder, relocated my location to Romania and started swiping to see if there were 1) Any cute Romanian men and 2) one that wanted to go on dates with me and show me around the capital city of Bucharest. I stumbled across Andrei's profile, immediately thought he was cute and noticed he went to school in the UK, where I also studied for 1 year. With a few things in common, Ryan super liked him so his profile would show up right away on Andrei's end (#strategy). Andrei liked me back and that's when the connection truly happened. Andrei asked me on a wine date and evening walk around the city thinking I was in his city of Bucharest but was in a totally different country still haha so I had to push the wine date until I was in Andrei's city. The first time we met in real life was the same day I landed in Bucharest where Andrei took me out for wine at a queer-friendly bar in Bucharest and the rest is gay history :)
Do you believe in love at first sight? We personally believe that love comes from getting to know each other over time VS what our sight sees at first (which is usually appearance). For us, our love story was different because we both lived on opposite sides of the world and met up for the first time with the idea that "oh he lives in a different country, so I doubt this will work out but let's see what happens". We definitely believe in chemistry and if it's meant to be, we'll figure out how to make it work.
What’s the secret for keeping the love alive? In short: Our love for traveling, discovering new places and making new memories together is our secret for keeping the love alive. Laughter and forgiveness are also key for keeping the love active.
Any advice for singles out there looking for love? Stop waiting for Prince charming! They're probably lost in the woods or something haha so just go out & find them queens! Mine was somewhere in Romania. Luckily his Canadian knight found him on the way to a wine bar🍷
Fav romantic travel memory? We discussed for a while about our favourite travel memories. Because we cover romantic vacations for couples, we have so many memories to choose from! Andrei picked our Romantic trip to Mont Tremblant in Canada, which is a beautiful ski resort we've been going to every winter. We discovered one of the most romantic spa's in Mont Tremblant nestled among the trees and snow where we absolutely fell in love. Mont Tremblant is Ryan's 2nd fav. His most favourite romantic travel memory also involves a spa getaway, but in the Austria Alps (can you tell we LOVE spas yet?). Andrei surprised me on a birthday trip to a spa retreat in Austria where he put me on a plane, train, and bus without me knowing where we were going! We finally arrived at Aqua Dome, which is this beautiful outdoor spa resort in the Austrian Alps! I spent my birthday in one of the rooftop thermal baths, alone with my boyfriend surrounded by the alps and the stars. It was the most romantic travel memory I'll never forget!
Ryan & Andrei are LGBTQ+ Travel Bloggers, based in Canada. Follow them: Instagram, Blog.
Thanks all for sharing your love stories and advice for all of us out there. Hope you enjoyed this as much as we did! :)
