We are getting married!

Our Story

Thanks to the pandemic, which allowed Yana to say a temporary bye - bye to NYC and work remotely in Sofia, and Tinder, which surprisingly proved to be where people meet to marry in Bulgaria, we, Simeon and Yana, met in the end of September of 2020 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Yana, fashionably late (an established brand of the bride-to-be), and Simeon, wearing, invariably, sneakers, ran towards the place that Simeon had reserved for dinner. At the restaurant’s entrance, Simeon turned to Yana and solemnly warned her that this was the last time they were going to see each other... The statement startled Yana. She, however, quickly proceeded to shrug her shoulders and accept her most likely imminent death at the hands of her date, a logical end to her disastrous love life, and proceeded to the entrance. A few minutes later, Simeon and Yana did enter complete darkness - holding the hand of a blind waiter who led them to their seats for a five-course dinner at the fully dark restaurant Tenebris in Sofia.

Not only did Yana live but she enjoyed a very lively dinner too – the conversation, along with the wine, was flowing joyfully and without any incidents despite the complete darkness. The drinks at the well illuminated bar next door afterwards solidified, to our participants’ relief, that the aesthetics of the other were indeed rather appealing too. Regular dates ensued, including a hike to Vihren, a peak near Sofia on the third date, where Simeon had thoughtfully brought Yana a suitable jacket (which of course she did not have on her), signaling to her that Simeon was a man who would take care of her. The dates turned into a confirmed exclusive relationship pretty quickly for American standards, prompted by Yana’s shameless question prior to Simeon’s Germany trip. A girl has got to know.

Fate also helped carry our relationship to this day. Yana had to travel frequently to the U.S., and it was a miracle that Simeon did not need the impossible - a live appointment at a U.S. Consulate during the peak of COVID - as he fortuitously had a U.S. visa he could renew online. The U.S. visa and Simeon’s willingness to embrace Yana’s life in NYC enabled our frequent cross-Atlantic escapades which in turn both tested and cemented our relationship.

On one of those trips, in Yana’s favorite city, NYC, in an early May evening in 2024, just after the rain had stopped, Simeon invited her on a cross-Central-Park escapade in a modern carriage (i.e. a black car) to Pulitzer Plaza, fell on one knee and asked her if she wanted to be his wife. Surrounded by the symbols of their life together, now and in the future – the Paris cinema (a life like in the (romantic, happy) movies), the Plaza building (human-made beauty), Central Park (nature and lush green), and the 5 th Ave Apple Store (apple = Adam & Eve), Yana, surprisingly teary-eyed given that she expected the proposal, said yes - to Simeon and all of that!

In the over four years together, our adventurous kindred spirits led us outside the continental U.S. and Bulgaria on many occasions - to Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Tanzania, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania, Austria, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia …and we cannot wait to explore more of this beautiful world together!

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The Wedding Weekend

June 27, 2025, Friday

Catholic Cathedral Ceremony (Catholic Cathedral of Sofia – St. Joseph Parish, 146 Knyaz Boris I Street, Sofia 1000). We’ll have a Catholic Cathedral ceremony in Sofia, in the early afternoon, to honor Simeon’s faith and see if Yana, a baptized Christian Orthodox and a spiritual-wanna be, will burst into flames when she enters the church. Exact location and time to come.

Pre-Wedding Dinner (Hotel Yastrebets Wellness & SPA, Borovets, Bulgaria). At the Welcome, Pre-Wedding Dinner, we’ll cover the drinks. Guests will cover the food at a pre-fixed menu and prices (to come). We do encourage all our foreign guests to attend, as we will go over basic Bulgarian folklore dances. In Bulgaria, it’s completely normal to dance at dinner - we like to eat, dance, eat some more, dance some more. Space is limited for this dinner – it is first come, first serve.

June 28, 2025, Saturday

Wedding Day & Civil Marriage (Hotel Yastrebets Wellness & SPA, Borovets, Bulgaria) This is the BIG DAY! Plan to be ready and dazzling at Hotel Yastrebetz around 3pm until LATE! More details to come.

Accomodation

We have reserved the entire Hotel Yastrebetz, Borovetz, Bulgaria for June 27th & June 28th, so we kindly ask you to book accommodation at Hotel Yasterbetz. If Hotel Yastrebetz has run out of space by the time you try to book, no worries - Borovetz is a popular winter resort with plenty of other accommodation options, and taxis are available. We may also organize group transportation at the resort town for June 27- 28th if there is sufficient demand for it. Please email us if you’re interested in group transportation for June 27-28th.

If we have already contacted you personally about accommodation, ignore the below. If we have not, kindly check out the accommodation options below and email reservations@hotelyastrebets.bg, using code YS WEDDING with your preferred accommodation, the guests’ full names, the age of any children, and if you’d like to bring any pets. We encourage you to book sooner rather than later, especially if you’re with small children, because there is limited space at Hotel Yastrebetz, and it will not fit all invited guests. Payment is due by April 28, 2025. NOTE: the description of the accommodations at the hotel’s website is a bit misleading - there are NO 2-bedroom apartments or Finnish villas. Please reach out to the hotel directly if you have any questions about the accommodations or the hotel amenities.

* Included are breakfast, all taxes, use of the fitness, indoor pool, SPA, parking, and WIFI. These are preferential prices - kindly don’t share them with third parties. You will need pay the hotel directly by April 28, 2025.

1 - An additional bed for a baby (0-3 years) can be added at no cost.
2 - An additional bed for a child (4-11 years) for 15 € per night per child or an adult for 25 € per night per adult may be added. Please check with the hotel for more information.
3 - A pet (i.e. a cat or a dog) can be accommodated in a Finnish villa for 10 € a night
4 - There are two types of Finnish villas - both have two queen beds and a couch but only the Finnish villas without saunas have one of the queen beds in a separate bedroom; the Finnish villas with saunas are practically studios/lofts

Transportation

We recommend renting a car if you’d like most flexibility. Depending on demand, we may organize group transportation – please email us if you’re interested in group transportation for the wedding weekend or for a Top Bulgaria Spots Tour after. In any case, do email us tour flight details.

Hotel Yastrebetz is located 72 kilometers from Sofia Airport (approximately 90 minutes drive by car)

Rent a car suggestion: Top Rent-a-Car

Gifts / Registry

Please don’t bring or buy any gifts - your attendance will be our gift! If you nevertheless would like to give us a gift, you may contribute to our honeymoon using Yana’s Venmo (@yana-z-yanushko), PayPal (ymihaleva@gmail.com), Zelle (ymihaleva@gmail.com), or Revolut [via phone number], or Simeon’s Revolut [via phone number].

RSVP

* Please RSVP by January 31, 2025. If you have not RSVP-ed by then, we would regrettably count you as not attending.

** Kids - we will arrange for baby-sitters and animators for kids under 10 years old for the wedding dinner. Dinner for them on the 28 th will be separate from the wedding dinner but you can of course bring your kids to the wedding dinner location too. Kids 10 and older will have a table seat at the wedding dinner.