The Destined Love Story of Valentina & Alexander

Sometimes, you just know. You can’t really explain it, but you know you’ve found “The One.”

Then, one day you realize that your similarities and differences are the perfect combination, as if it’s a match made in heaven. Something this perfect is hard to miss. But even the perfect love story usually requires a sequence of big and little journeys to find it. And then other times, the perfect love story really just needs…fate.

Alexander and Valentina’s love story started at a bus station in Croatia. The setting was something out of a romance novel.

Alexander had just purchased his ticket to begin his journey home to America. During his time in Croatia, his work responsibilities began to pile up. His bus ticket was a sign that he was cutting his trip short so he could get back to business. In the months leading up to this trip, Alexander had been prayerfully seeking the woman who would one day be his wife. However, waiting at that empty bus station and anxious to get back home, his mind was on work, not on finding true love. Until Valentina.

Bus Flirts and Missed Beats

Valentina and her Aunt Marisella were traveling back home to Italy. Even after their three-hour bus ride, they weren’t even close to their destination. They wouldn’t board their flight until the following day. At this stage in Valentina’s life, she was prayerful and looking to find a good husband, but in that moment she was just enjoying her travels. When Valentina turned the corner at the bus station, her focus shifted back to her prayers. Her husband would be on the same three-hour ride—she just didn’t know it yet.

Alexander and Valentina boarded the bus. As Alexander waited for the bus to pull away from the station, he continued to think about life, his business and how he dreaded the next few hours on that bus. As his mind drifted elsewhere, he heard a sweet “hello” directed at him. As he turned his head to see who it was, he was faced with a beautiful Italian girl smiling at him.

For the remainder of the three-hour trip, they flirted over Google Translate. The spark between them was so strong that Alexander didn’t want it to end when the bus ride was over. So, when Valentina told him that she wouldn’t be boarding her flight until the next day, Alexander quickly offered to take her to the beach while they waited to part ways. Valentina declined his offer and Alexander was more than bummed. It wasn’t so much the rejection that left him feeling afflicted, it was the fact that she would rather spend hours waiting in the noisy airport than with him. For a moment, it seemed like this wouldn’t be a love story after all. But then again, this is where some stories just need a little help from fate.

Turns Out, Love Knows No Distance

Even after the beach date rejection, Alexander and Valentina continued to keep in touch over Instagram. Months passed by and their connection continued to grow. Despite the time difference, the two found a rhythm to maintain a long-distance relationship. While so many long-distance couples were breaking up, Alexander and Valentina seemed to be an exception. After months of messaging, it was clear that one way or another they had to end up together. They made plans to reconnect in person the following summer. Even though that was over a year away, they never lost hope.

Unfortunately, that following summer was when the world was rocked by a major shutdown due to COVID-19. When the shutdown hit, Alexander and Valentina were continuously rejected to travel when attempting to book flights. Their plans had to change.

After researching, they learned that one of the only options for them to meet in person was to travel back to Croatia. Ironically, their next time seeing each other face-to-face was where they first met over a year prior. But this time they were at the bus station to intentionally find each other. Standing in the station after 16 months apart, it was obvious they were meant for each other.

A Month Together, A Lifetime to Go

They spent a month together in Croatia. They were more in love than ever. Knowing that their time together would have to temporarily come to an end when their trip was over, Alexander knew that there had to be more. After he arrived back in America, this time he prepared for the proposal. Valentina was his person and he didn’t want to live his life without her. She had no idea what was coming next.

After seven months of anxiously waiting to see her again, he flew to Valentina’s hometown, just north of Milan. After arriving at Lake Como, Alexander met her family and planned a beautiful proposal. Valentina’s parents instantly said “yes” when Alexander asked for their blessing, in Italian. With everything in order, Alexander took Valentina on a boat ride around the lake and docked at a villa. Overlooking the lake, he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. There was no hesitation. It was an instant “yes!”

What followed next was months of planning and preparation for not just one, but two weddings. The couple decided to celebrate once in America and a second time in Italy. Neither Alexander nor Valentina enjoyed much of the wedding planning process, but surrounded by loving friends, family and amazing professionals, they came together and planned two weddings of fairy tales. Valentina was able to share her Italian heritage with her new family in America and the couple was able to share the beautiful side of their new life together with their family in Italy.

Just like most weddings, not everything went as planned. Based on their timeline, they were an hour behind schedule. But the happy couple has encouraged other engaged couples with this: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, or really the big stuff. Commit to yourself and to one another that you will not allow any issues that may arise ruin your day. Ensure you have time alone for one another.”

The couple recently told us that they are always on the same wavelength. So it’s no surprise that a few timeline hiccups wouldn’t get in their way of having the most memorable day.

Leading up to their unexpected collision in that Croatian bus station, both Alexander and Valentina were eager to find their person, but being so independent and driven, they needed fate to bring them together. All that matters now is that they will live their life together in a love-filled marriage and they have a beautiful love story to pass down for generations.