Trish and Micael’s story proves love conquers all, especially distance. There story is a testament to the powers of love and that anything is possible! Here’s their story:

Trish had recently moved back to California, after living in Arizona for a few years. Coming home with the desire to start over, little did she know coming home would be the start of the best adventure of her life.  Moving in with her two best friends John & Becky, Trish spent months moping around, until Becky decided it was time to stop the cycle and go shopping! Every girl loves to shop right? It’s the perfect cure, and can lead to a chance encounter that can change your life.

As usual the weather was beautiful so the girls went down to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. As they were browsing the kiosks Trish heard a strange accent from a man standing next to her. She couldn’t help herself from eavesdropping to try to figure out where he was from. Inquiring about the interesting man next to her, Trish asked Becky where she thought he was from. Her response, as any good girlfriend would say, was “I don’t know, why don’t you ask him.”

To Trish’s surprise, when she turned to finally talk to the gentleman, he was already staring at her with an adorable smile on his face. This handsome stranger had overheard Trish’s conversation with Becky, and caught her off-guard. He gave a little chuckle and said, “Well, are you going to ask me where I’m from?”

That simple little sentence was the ice-breaker that started it all. As they started talking Trish’s interest in this handsome stranger, now known as Micael, grew. Unfortunately, he was only in town for 3 more days; before he was to return to Switzerland! Not giving up, Trish invited Micael to accompany her and Becky to Magic Mountain when he was in town next. Unable to exchange phone numbers due to the expensive cost of communication, their friendship grew through Facebook.

Chatting back and forth on Facebook, Trish and Micael decided to set up a Skype date. After months of developing a friendship, it was clear it was destined to be more. The long distance relationship was not easy with a 9 hour time difference; but with dedication they both proved love can conquer anything. He would wake up an hour earlier than his usual time before getting ready for work just to talk to Trish, and again before he went to bed. Only managing to see each other almost every 3 to 4 months, finally being reunited on January 4th 2013, Trish not only got to see the man she loved, but it would be a day she would never forget.

After a beautiful dinner at the Odyssey, they walked around Griffith Park Observatory. Luckily, the night was clear and the city sparkled as they stood holding each other. He confessed his love for Trish and then dropped down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Trish found herself saying yes before he could even finish asking the question!