There’s something so comforting about revisiting our wedding memories — like a cozy little flashback for the soul. This May 9th, 2025, we celebrated nine years together as a couple and our second wedding anniversary. The wedding itself? It happened on May 7th — seven years after we first got together.
We came up with a little tradition that still makes me smile: each year, we move our anniversary date forward by one day so that the number of the day matches the number of years we’ve been together. So this year, it was May 9th for nine years. Next year? It’ll be May 10th — ten years strong. I jotted down this quirky system to make sure I don’t forget (because let’s be real, memory is a trickster). But let me walk you through it from the beginning…
How we met
It was the classic college experience. First day of school, September 1st, at the Faculty of Soil Science at Moscow State University. My friend and I were sitting there, trying to make sense of whatever academic wisdom they were throwing at us from the stage. And then — boom! — a note flies in from the upper rows. Total retro-romance moment: a guy (yep, that was Igroglaz) and his friend sent us an invite to a music festival.
And what did I do? Wrote a big fat “no!” on the same piece of paper and sent it right back. No explanation, no context. Just a casual rejection. Classic me. 😘
Igroglaz and I were in the same class, so we saw each other almost every day. I was the overachiever sitting in the front row, while he couldn’t care less and usually hung out in the back. We barely spoke at first — just polite nods and the occasional group project.
But turns out, he had his eye on me from day one. I didn’t find that out until much later — during our summer field practice at the end of second year.
We didn’t actually start dating until about a year later — when I invited Igroglaz on our first official date… which, to be fair, was really just rollerblading in Kolomenskoye Park. Super casual. Very low-stakes. Classic me.
Up until that point, I’d turned down pretty much every attempt at hanging out outside of campus — even the not-so-subtle hints about us “being more than classmates.” At the time, I was totally focused on school and just enjoying friendly vibes. I was also still kind of recovering from my very first relationship, which had just ended not long before. So yeah — I wasn’t in a rush.
7 years dating before the wedding
Why did it take us so long? Well… school, school, and more school. First, our five-year specialist degrees, and then a full-blown PhD program in the Netherlands. We were so deep into research that weddings just weren’t on the radar. Both of us were writing and defending dissertations, eventually earning our PhDs in biology. Only when that chapter finally closed did we have the headspace for something new to begin.
In the meantime, we went through a whole spectrum of phases — from sweet love to fiery arguments. For the first couple of years, we were just dating while still living with our parents. Then we slowly started living together — first at my place, then at his.
We also lived separately for a while in rented apartments in Moscow and the Netherlands. Before the wedding, I managed to graduate twice from MSU with honors, complete a PhD program, and defend my dissertation. I started working in my field and eventually became head of analytics in marketing.
We both studied, worked, adopted a cat, moved in together, constantly relocating, renovating apartments, trying to figure life out as a team. Love, learning to live together, fights, jealousy, moments where we almost broke up… and the realization that we were meant to be together!
One night before bed, I even asked myself: “Is he really the one?”
And then I had a dream — about my great-grandma and great-grandpa, in their little wooden house in the Ryazan region, where my parents used to send me for the summer with my grandma and our dog. In the dream, they were together, just quietly nodding. The whole thing felt so warm and familiar — that kind of soft, old-fashioned comfort that smells like fresh bread and sounds like a ticking wall clock.
When I woke up, I just knew. Yeah. It’s him. He’s the one. And we’re meant to be together. Always. Because being with him feels exactly like that dream — cozy, safe, and real. We’re both intense, a little hot-headed, definitely stubborn — but love? Oh, it’s there. All the way through.
Seven years flew by in a blink. I still remember sitting at his place, editing our scientific article on his computer. And then Igroglaz walked over, casually — like he was asking about dinner — and said, “Will you marry me?” No speeches. No kneeling. No fireworks. Just… real.
It was so perfectly us, I actually cried. And of course, I said yes.
Where’s the wedding dress?
There was a dress. I bought it and even hand-stitched little pearls on it. But… on the morning of the wedding, I woke up and thought: nope. I just want to feel like me. Comfortable. Honest.
So I put on jeans and a denim jacket. Igroglaz wore jeans too. That was our wedding — no performance, no pressure. No guests, no banquet. Just the two of us. We signed the papers at the registry office and spent the rest of the day wandering around Moscow, eating delicious snacks and soaking in the vibe.
There are no photos of me in the dress. And you know what? I actually love that. Because our wedding felt true. Just like us — no masks, no pretending. Even the woman who married us at the office said, “You two are so real.”
We filmed everything, by the way — so you can actually feel the vibe with us if you ever watch it.
And what about our families? Well, after seven years together, they were kind of used to the idea of us, so I don’t think anyone was particularly surprised. We told everyone we were getting married but wouldn’t be doing anything big or fancy. Just keeping it simple.
And honestly? I’m so glad we did it that way. The whole day was just ours. No stress, no to-do lists, no trying to impress anyone. Just two people who love each other, roaming the city, eating yummy stuff, and feeling ridiculously happy. 😻🐻
What changed after the wedding?
this part gets interesting. There’s this common idea that men are terrified of marriage, while women are all secretly dreaming of weddings. And honestly, the stats kind of back that up — more than half of marriages end in divorce.
But in our case? It went the other way around. The wedding wasn’t some dramatic turning point or a finish line — it was a release. A moment when all the background noise just… stopped. I stopped Googling things like “why isn’t he proposing?” or “how to drop hints about getting married.” (And let’s be real — those searches can quietly drain the joy out of your life.)
After we got married, that whole topic simply disappeared from our conversations — and everything got easier. There was this inner calm that settled in: we’re together, it’s official, it’s steady. And even though I already knew we had something solid, actually choosing each other — like, for real — turned out to be a big deal.
It’s kind of like getting a passport. You can live without it, sure. But once you have it, there’s this sense of freedom and legitimacy. That’s what the wedding felt like — a ticket to a shared future. Just a little stamp, really, but somehow it made everything warmer.
So if you ask me whether our life changed after getting married — yes, absolutely. But only for the better. And it’s not about the piece of paper — it’s about that peaceful joy that quietly moved in and stayed.
Fun facts from the road to “I do”
- The timing of the proposal? Impeccable. Exactly three months earlier, life had served me not one but two unpleasant surprises: I quit my job, and my YouTube channel got banned. My mood was somewhere below the Dead Sea — sad, lost, and totally unsure about everything. So when the proposal happened, it felt like a step toward something real, something I still dared to dream about.
- Meanwhile, Igroglaz had secretly planned to propose on our 7-year anniversary — super sweet, right? Except… I didn’t know that. So about a month before the big day, I completely lost it and picked a fight like, “Why haven’t you proposed yet?!” Yeah. Great timing, me.
- And one more thing I’ve learned since: being married or not — in terms of everyday life, it honestly doesn’t make much of a difference. And that’s exactly how I define a healthy relationship now. Don’t expect marriage to magically make things better. If anything changes, it’s usually for the worse. At best? Everything just stays as it was. And if “as it was” is already good — that’s all you really need.
The Secret to Long-Term Love
A little more laughter, a little less stress,
A little more shrugging, a little more mess.
Less ego, less anger — more letting it slide,
More trust, and some effort to glow from inside.
Cook together, clean together, share the daily grind,
Find joy in the small things, and leave the gloom behind.
Live light, love loud, no reason to grieve —
And don’t forget to stroke each other’s metaphorical mane with ease.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ How do you choose a wedding dress that fits your style and your budget?
Start by setting a budget — and stick to it (seriously, don’t even try on that overpriced dream dress). Figure out the vibe of your wedding and browse some inspo pics online. Pro tip: you can totally get a cute cocktail dress and customize it with a few wedding-ish details. Budget-friendly and original.
❓ Is it okay to get married without guests or a reception?
Absolutely yes! You don’t have to follow the traditional script if that’s not your thing. Just the two of you, showing up, signing the papers, and maybe wandering around afterward? Super romantic.