Fast forward to 2012 and after a romantic proposal in front of the US Capitol building in Washington DC, Mirjam (who is both a Pilates teacher  and successful photographer in her free time when not coordinating executive relocations for MoveOne) and I were married in Leipzig before a crowd of over 60 people from almost 15 countries, the farthest traveling from Argentina. Being British, while Mirjam is from Slovenia, finding the ideal location wasn't easy. But my ancestral heritage at roughly half way between our two homelands gave us the idea to link it to my grandmother's birthplace and a book I am writing about her and her ‘Prussian Family's Passage Through Leipzig.'

Family and friends were thrilled at the idea and following a reunion and a charismatic tour the day before of historical points of family interest (I dressed up as my grandmother's father), the sun shone brightly on our big day in April. Mirjam looked stunning as she pulled up to our romantic 16th century castle in Machern, just east of Leipzig in a 1940s Citroen. We paused before the entrance and felt just like William and Kate. It truly was a Family Celebration.

Being an expat brings plenty of challenges, but it's that sense of adventure that never ceases to fascinate. In my family the tendency to skip from one European country to another has repeated across seven generations, hence my book is titled ‘Wandervogel’ (which means migratory bird in German). However, never before did one of my forebears marry another Wandervogel, so in this regard, we made our own history!

Now sitting back and enjoying our wedded bliss, I was recently reminded who it was that helped Mirjam and I get to know one another in the first place. But I think it was precisely because we had no expectations towards Xpatloop's company seeker as a means of finding Mr. or Mrs. Right that the relationship blossomed. Thank you Xpatloop!

The city tour, wedding day and honeymoon were all captured on film and short clips have been posted on YouTube.

Jerome Simpson is Senior Expert in Green Transport at the The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe where he has worked since 1995.