It's highly unlikely that we know the exact day we will meet our soulmate. We may pray that such a fairy tale exists, but when reality hits, the bliss of the moment is overwhelming. For self-proclaimed soulmates Mikhailia and Olivier, fate would have them experience their date with destiny in 2008 at a Latin club Loca Luna in Atlanta, Georgia. Their attraction to each other was instaneous. At the time, Mikhailia was living in Atlanta and about to graduate from medical school, while Olivier had recently moved there to start his new job. "We exchanged hellos but said nothing else to each other for two-and-a-half years," shared Mikhalia.

By then, Mikhailia had moved to Baltimore to complete her residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. As fate would have it, Olivier had been visiting Washington DC, a nearby state, for a memorial ceremony at Arlington Cemetery, for his uncle who had served in the army. Mikhailia discovered this after seeing Olivier mention it in a Facebook update. "I had a free weekend ahead, so I replied to his post asking 'for how long?'" shared Mikhailia. He responded privately with a message which included his phone number.

They spoke briefly and made plans for their long overdue first date. That Friday night, they dined at a restaurant called Marrakech in Washington DC. "It warmed my heart (to know) that Olivier, who had suffered the brunt of the then collapsing economy and had not flown in close to a year and a half, took his last dime to take me out to dinner," recalled Mikhailia.

"Every time I think about that night,

it makes me cry," she further

explained. By the end of the night, they both knew they wanted to see each other again.

The Proposal

About a year later, the couple took a weekend trip to Paris, which is not only the most romantic city in the world, but the place Olivier called home for many years during his childhood. One Sunday afternoon, they took a stroll by the Eiffel Tower before sitting on a patch of grass next to the tower. Before long Olivier pulled out a diamond solitaire and asked Mikhailia to be his wife. The dinner cruise down the Seine River which followed thereafter completed what seemed like the perfect evening.

See next week's issue of Vows for Part 2 of our feature on Olivier and Mikhalia Michael.