Our Story
Our love story began on September 10th, 2021, in Barcelona, Spain. Melissa was there on the last night of her vacation with friends after having celebrated the wedding of a friend in northern Spain in the city of San Sebastian (foreshadow?!). Sebastian was in Barcelona with his friends on a vacation that was supposed to be an Italian road trip, but had gotten postponed and re-routed to Barcelona when Sebastian got COVID and they needed to reschedule. The two groups of friends met by chance outside of a restaurant, El Xiringo, and got to talking. Fast forward to a few hours later, the groups were having after-dinner drinks together at one of their dinner tables, and Melissa and Sebastian hit it off.
Sebastian got Melissa's number that evening and they kept in touch, mostly via WhatsApp texting, which progressed into hours-long FaceTime "dates". They then started to visit each other in their respective cities, Melissa to Vienna and Sebastian to NYC, which went on for about 10 months until Sebastian secured a job in NYC and moved to be with Melissa in July of 2022.
They shortly thereafter moved from the West Village into an apartment on the Upper West Side, which became their "first home" together. There Melissa & Sebastian enjoyed runs in Central Park, strolls around their neighborhood, hosting friends to grill on their rooftop, Ranger games, and welcoming many family and friends who came to visit from Vienna.
In May of 2025, Sebastian had a conference to attend in Madrid, Spain, so he asked Melissa to come along and suggested that they return to Barcelona, to visit the city where they had met. One evening in Barcelona, Sebastian told Melissa that he had a surprise planned for the next morning. The next day, on May 21st, they woke up at 5:30am and left their hotel in a car waiting outside. Not knowing where they were going, but under Sebastian's secret direction, the car took them to the beach near El Xiringo, to the spot where they hung out the night that they met. On the beach in front of a beautiful sunrise, Sebastian set up a blanket with breakfast and champagne, before giving a beautiful letter to Melissa, followed by proposing! It was a very special morning that they will remember forever.
In October, Melissa & Sebastian packed their bags and moved to Munich, Germany, where Sebastian has started his orthopeadic surgery residency. They look forward to welcoming visiting friends and family from the US and Austria there, and seeing what adventure the future has in store for them.
Melissa & Sebastian cannot wait to write the next chapter of their love story together, beginning with their wedding next May in Vienna, and sharing a city that means so much to them with their family and friends...