Ralf and Sofia met in 1995, when Ralf was three days old. Their families were friends, having met as neighbors in their community pool in Doral Place, Miami. Both families were living in Miami temporarily, Sofia's coming from Venezuela and Ralf's from Germany.

When Ralf was born, his older sister Sandra stayed with the Taboadas for a few days while mom and dad were busy with labor and delivery. This ensured that they came over directly from the hospital, granting Sofia the honor of being one of the first humans that Ralf ever met. (Find a photo of that day in the "Photos" section of this website.) Little Sofia may have had some kind of instinctual draw toward baby Ralf, because she is the only one of her siblings pictured holding him several times.

The Zehnters moved back to Germany shortly after Ralf's birth, but the two families would keep in touch through the years, getting together in person on a couple of occasions. Ralf and Sofia had a lot in common throughout their separate lives, including a dream of moving to California. Both would make that dream happen after college, though they never coincided in living in the same place at the same time.

Ralf visited Sofia while in San Francisco in 2016, then in San Diego in 2020, and again in 2022, when they planned to meet up for a vacation in Portugal. Ralf had a sneaky goal of pursuing a relationship but Sofia remained clueless for longer than she'd like to admit, despite their undeniable chemistry and compatibility.

During the Portugal trip, their years of friendship flourished into romance and the two have been inseparable ever since. Starting briefly as a long-distance relationship, Sofia in San Diego and Ralf in the Netherlands, they soon made the decision to go all-in with Sofia officially moving in 2023 to join Ralf in Roermond, NL.

Since then, they have been adventuring all over Europe and are have recently embarked on the biggest adventure yet, parenthood! The two welcomed their first child, sweet little Luna, in September 2024.

Having a wedding and celebrating their union with loved ones has continued to be a priority, and they're so excited to finally bring those plans to fruition!

We truly hope that you can join us. Was it weird that I wrote this in the third person? It felt appropriate. Hope to see you there! Love, Sofia <3