“That day we started to chat and that’s how the magic happened!”

A self-proclaimed couple of the ‘COVID generation’, Astrid and Nicolas are discovering the newfound joys of having been legally wed this autumn but excitedly anticipating the day when they can go big on celebrations with family and friends. We chat with them about their snowy proposal and the magic of long-term love.

Nicolas: We were both studying at the same business school in France. One of my flatmates was dating one of your flatmates. At the beginning of the year the hot water wasn’t working in Astrid’s flat, and they wanted a shower so they all came over to ours. That day we started to chat and that’s how the magic happened!

Astrid: It’s true. At some point I was like, ‘he’s cute, you know!’ I had a crush. That was nine years ago now.

N: It was in Budapest, on our seventh anniversary. The trip was a gift and I didn’t tell her where we were going before we left. I wanted to wait for a nice time for the proposal, but when we started visiting the city there was always a small detail that made it not so great. But it meant I waited until the third day.

A: Literally the last moment. Two hours before taking the bus to the airport!

N: We were on the less touristy hill in Budapest and it had snowed over the weekend, so it was all snowy and there was no one around, so that’s where I asked the question. With a nice view of the city.

A: You hid the ring in a tissue in your pocket basically all weekend! It must have been so stressful.

Every time we go away on holiday for the weekend, we do those jumping pictures. You know the ones I mean? It’s a tradition and now we have a whole collection of those pictures. It’s our thing.

N: The first time we went to the South of France to see my family to spend holidays with family together. Or when we went to South Africa, to see Astrid’s grandparents. That was our first time outside Europe, our first time traveling for two weeks, and our first road trip. We stayed in Cape Town and rented a car and drove all the way to Port Elizabeth.

A: We did bungee jumping down there as well and I have very vivid memories of that, when we were on the bridge before we jumped. But my favourite one is when he proposed. And when we got married—that one’s not too bad either! We have too many memories to pick one.