I am a 43 year old Englishman, I first started looking for a wife from FSU in 1997. At first only by snail mail and later by Internet (various agencies). I tried Moscow (snail mail), St Petersburg, Minsk and the Crimea with no success. Until I came across a site with a web cam, Sergey and Zoya's site in Kharkov. I watched for a while before registering as a member. I had seen many sites in my five years of searching. What attracted me was the open honesty of the web cam system and the service charges, very reasonable.

I am a big believer in only writing to one girl at a time. Guys the Girls all know each other, if you write to more than one girl, change the letter not just the name at the top. Spend time on your first letter this may be your future wife!

I first visited Kharkov in September 2001, I had arranged to see a girl I had only written to 3 times. But this was my first visit; all my previous attempts had stumbled. I just wanted to go and see what the Ukraine was like. I was very nervous this was just after 9/11, however the intense security at London put my mind at rest. The plane was practically empty, as a result and with a tail wind, arrived at Kiev 40 minutes early. Nerves and adrenaline kicked in; this was a new country. I had arranged for Sergey to have a car waiting for me. This was a big help, when I was mobbed by the waiting taxi drivers; all I could say was "nyet nyet nyet" rather loudly. They left me alone after that. The trip in the car took about 5 hours. Sergey helped me settle into the apartment he had arranged for me. I wouldn't recommend a hotel; some girls would feel uncomfortable about visiting a guy in his room, but guys this is your choice.

The next morning I was met by Sergey and Corey an American guy visiting at the same time. We walked from the apartment to the office. Corey gave me a guided tour of the centre of town. Wow I had read about the beauty of Ukrainian and Russian girls on the Internet. It's true and better in real life!

It didn’t work out with the girl I went to see, but Sergey and Zoya were both very helpful and understanding. Sergey arranged for me to have dates with other girls, all charming but no "spark"

I also asked him to take some photos of me while I was there, so he could show any new girls that registered at the agency. At the time I didn’t know how important this would be.

I headed back to England a little sad that my mission had failed but proud with the fact that I had finally done it, visited the Ukraine. On my way home I vowed to return.

At home every day after work I logged into the Bridge, maybe I would see a new girl come into the office. One day in December an Angel walked in, I was besotted; it was like cupid's arrow straight through my heart. Nervously I asked Sergey in chat. "Who is it?" Sergey replied "a new girl, called Yana maybe she will register at the agency, I have shown her your photo. She likes your photo. Now you must wait to see if she registers. And more importantly "Maybe you'll get lucky".

I got lucky! We wrote, chatted arranged to meet at the earliest time I could holiday from Work. We met for the first time on 22nd March 2002. Yana caught the bus to the airport to greet me. We then had a five-hour wait for the next bus. We chatted using a dictionary for 5 hours in the airport lounge. I can remember thinking; Wow here is the "spark" I have been waiting for. If I get very lucky I will marry this girl. I had bought my laptop with me and we used a translation programme to chat to each other. I strongly recommend that anyone visiting does this too. We had three wonderful weeks together. I proposed after 10 days, and had to meet Yana's Mum and Dad to ask permission for her hand in marriage. I was so nervous, but they are wonderful people.

Leaving was a big wrench; it really pulls on your heartstrings. However I had arranged to return in June to sort out Yana's Fiancee visa. Another wonderful three weeks together, a scorching June and July it was hotter than Spain. Family is very important to Ukrainian Girls, so we visited Yana's grandparents in the country. I am now a convert to Ukrainian food.

We went twice to the British consulate in Kiev and directly after the interview, Yana was issued with Entry clearance Marriage Visa for England. Yana arrived in England on 28th July; and we were married 26th October 2002 just 7 months after we met. Because only my family could attend the wedding in October we decided to return to Kharkov to have a Wedding celebration on 6th Jan 2003 for Yana's family too. I would recommend a Ukrainian wedding to anyone. It was wonderful. Many traditions: Bread and salt, home fire, hands tied together, bride being stolen and rescued, bride's shoe being stolen (Best man, Sergey and Maid of honour, Zoya helping in the return), speech by everyone in the room and many more I can't remember.