S6E10: Better Conversations - The Fun Way!
Calling all game lovers, this one's for you!
Diana and her husband met in Romania, where they both grew up. Traveling to the UK to spend the weekend with Diana, their "first date" was a weekend of games, laughing, and fun; since then, they haven't stopped playing games together.
This love of competition in combination with their desire to have better conversations inspired a cool card game - and app! - called Better Topics.
Bonus: hear all about some really cool Romanian traditions surrounding weddings, family, and more!
Guest: Diana Indries, Better Topics
This week, we’re dishing about things like…
Romanian wedding traditions
Relocating for your significant other
Planning a wedding in just a few months
Giving up control and focusing on what’s important to you
Games!
… and more!
Background Info
How did you two meet?
We met by accident in the summer of 2017 when I was vising my parents. We had some issues with the wi-fi at the house and called a friend to help. He couldn't help me as he was away and sent his friend, Robert, to sort it out... 3 hours later the wi-fi was still broken... but the conversation was amazing... The strange thing about our story is that we both lived for 8 years in the same city as high school students and later university students and have never met, although as students we used to hang out in the same places and clubs.
What was the first thing you noticed about your partner?
His smile :D
Tell us about the proposal!
The first time he came to the UK, I took him to an Italian restaurant that I liked and had really good food. Two months later, for New Years’ Eve, he booked us a table at the same restaurant and my brother joined us as well, which was pretty normal. Although at first, I thought that it was a birthday thing for me... after having our meal and him dropping to one knee in the middle of the restaurant I finally understood what was happening. By the time he was asking/talking I couldn't really hear or understand what he was saying as everybody in the restaurant started cheering. I just saw the ring and was suuuper happy that it was quite an unusual engagement ring. And I said YES!!!! Four months later we had our wedding!
Wedding Details & Planning
Wedding Date: May 19, 2018
Wedding Location: Eastern Europe
Approx. number of guests who attended your wedding: 230
What were your top 5 favorite moments from your wedding?
1. When my husband came with a part of his wedding party to officially 'take me away' from my parents' house.
2. When my dad walked me down the aisle in the church I always dreamt of getting married in, being all emotional as he was giving me away.
3. Our very first dance as a married couple.
4. The 'Kidnapping the bride and ransom' moments - sounds weird but it's a fun tradition!
5. Having the 'Bride's Wedding' with loads of guests.
What, if anything, would you change about the wedding planning process?
Help my mom and mother-in-law more with the planning.
What, if anything, would you change about your wedding day?
Not letting tiredness take over
Did you participate in any family, cultural, or religious traditions into your wedding?
Yes we have:
1. the groom coming to take me away from my parents' house and him having a spokesperson that talked in riddles and poems
2. lots of food
3. religious wedding in a church
4. having godparents on both sides - i.e. one couple for me and one for him - works pretty much like for christening, but we have godparents at weddings as well.
5. 'Kidnaping the bride and asking for ransom'
6. Getting money as wedding gift & giving out small bottles of traditional drink and cake
7. Having the 'Bride's wedding'
Did you highlight cultural traditions at your wedding? If so, how?
We did incorporate some of the main traditions we have around weddings. Other than that we had transportation provided for people and various genres of music as many of our guests were from different parts of the country and therefore having different types of traditional songs.
What was the planning process like? Did you run into any obstacles? How did you overcome them?
My mom and mom-in-law did most of the planning as we live in a different country and it was difficult for us, especially me, to take time off work and constantly take time off work to sort out things. I also had very few requests for things I definitely wanted, and there were many things I didn't bother about. I wanted the theme of the wedding to be white and navy blue and the cake to be white with navy blue sugar roses dripping down on it. Other than that I was ok with most things and I left the menu tasting and decisions around that to my mom and mom-in-law.
What was the most important decision you made about your wedding?
To have the wedding soon after we got engaged and to discuss everything with my partner so he would be on my side if anyone was trying to change things last minute, as he understood my reasons for doing certain things.
What is your favorite thing about your significant other?
I love how supportive he is, and at times even defends our decisions even in front of his family if necessary.
Married Life
What’s the best thing that’s happened in your lives since getting married?
Still loving each other as we did in the beginning and still being as happy as in the beginning.
What is the most surprising difference between being married vs dating and/or living together?
Not sure there is any difference, to be honest. Maybe just the fact that all those who told us that everything will change after marriage were wrong :)
Have something else to share? A funny story? Something crazy that happened?
There are a lot of weird coincidences ever since we've met so it is reaaally hard to pick just one.
Better Topics
We both love card games, lazy Sunday mornings, and spending quality time together, in general.
We believe our conscious habit of setting time aside every week to communicate openly, provide honest feedback to each other in a loving manner, and make plans for upcoming weeks is what’s keeping us so happy.
On one such occasion, we’ve asked “How could we help other couples enjoy and learn from their relationships as much as we do, but make it fun?”
Thus, a few months later, Better Topics – The Card Game For Couples, was born.
We loved the idea of a card game for couples, but how do we make it fun? How do we design the card game in a way that you can play it week after week?
Our goal is to help couples experience more love, joy, and connection with each other, and we believe this simple game will do just that!
You can learn more at Better Topics.
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