How We Met
It was our sophomore year of high school when the new kid (Rahul) just so happened to be sitting behind me in the gymnasium during a delayed opening. I remember thinking to myself, “How can someone be so quiet?”, and so I decided to strike up a conversation. The only thing that came to mind was “Hey, I like your shirt.” Let me tell you, I actually HATED his shirt (and I still tell him to this day), but it’s the first thing that I could think of, to which he replied with a simple “Thank you!” and nothing more.
Despite him being shy, I had a gut feeling that our friendship would eventually blossom. We happened to be a part of the same friend circle, and slowly but surely, began to get to know one another. We bonded over our taste in music, our quirks, and could talk about anything and everything in the world – It was like I had known him for a lifetime. The craziest coincidence was that when he moved into town, his family moved in right next door to where we had moved out, only two months earlier! We quite literally could’ve been neighbors, and he would’ve been your classic “boy next door” :)
Our senior year of high school, I would pick him up and drive him to school every morning (I’m a few months older), and though it was only a ten-minute drive, it was one of the best parts of my day – The level of comfort I had with him, was different than what I’d ever felt before.
Long story short, we ended up going to the same college and began dating approximately two and a half years after meeting (On September 4, 2013). Rahul is truly a romantic (the opposite of me) and the story of how he asked me to be his girlfriend holds a very special place in my heart, but I won’t get into the details here.
It’s been over eight years of us dating, and we’ve gone through it ALL – Going to college together, meeting some of our closest friends who became family to us, going through long-distance when I moved to Chicago for work (Some say long-distance relationships don’t last, but we took it as an opportunity to explore a new city together – We created some of our fondest memories as a couple!), traveling all over the country, and finally moving back home during the pandemic, where we’re only five minutes from one another, and I wouldn’t have it any other way because he’s truly my best friend.
How They Asked
THE BIG DAY!
I always had a feeling that Rahul would pop the question in 2021 because we had talked about taking the next big step in our relationship – But I never had any idea when it would actually happen. Fast forward to the last quarter of 2021, where I was constantly thinking to myself, “Okay, the year is almost over, when is he ACTUALLY going to do it?!”
To my surprise, he actually kept things under wraps for a while, and the only reason I say to my surprise is that if you know me, you know that it is VERY hard to keep a secret from me because I WILL figure it out some way or another. My best friend only gave me one instruction to follow – “Keep your nails done for the next few months,” and that I did.
So how did he make sure I was dressed up for the special moment? Rahul told me that he had a work gala for us to go to, and I didn’t think much of it because it was several weeks, if not months, before the proposal – Almost exactly a month before, he reminded me again that he had bought the tickets for the gala, and that’s when I started becoming skeptical. I nagged him constantly, asking him, “Okay, what do I wear to this gala?”, “Who’s coming to the gala?”, “Why is the gala on a Sunday afternoon?” – The last one was my biggest question – Who hosts a work gala on a weekend?! But he knows me so well, he got everyone involved to throw me off, including my best friend, parents, our friends & his coworkers (Who even sent fake photos of what they were “wearing to the gala”).
I ordered several dresses for the event, and of course, with my luck, there was a shipping delay and they wouldn’t arrive until after. I think that’s when Rahul panicked, and he told me he would leave work early to help me go find a dress the week of (which was sketchy, because he has never cared this much about the dress I wore haha).
In the days leading up to the big day, everyone around me was acting very strange – My parents could not stop smiling and my best friend kept telling me that it’s actually a gala and not to get my hopes up. I wake up the morning of, with this GUT feeling that it was going to happen that day, and my anxiety starts kicking in (good anxiety).
He shows up at my house to pick me up for the “gala” and is wearing a green suit, almost the exact same color as the dress I was wearing, and all I could think was “How in the hell did he buy a suit so quick and why is he matching with me?” Once again, didn’t think too much into it.
When we got to Weehawken Pier, he told me that we were meeting his coworkers beforehand, and that to kill time, he wanted to show me an art exhibition that his company had put together for this event, and that’s when I just KNEW. As we walked up to the pier, I suddenly saw the entire way lined up with cartoonized photos of us over the past eight years. We stopped at every single photo and relived each memory, soaking up the moment. Finally, when we got to the end of the pier, a beautiful backdrop was set up with rose petals and candles on the ground. If you ask me what he said when he got down on one knee, I honestly would not be able to tell you, because I was so ecstatic that the special day was finally here. I said yes, of course! (p.s. The ring is absolutely stunning, and he even got it engraved with, “It was always you.” on the inside of the band). I mean, how lucky am I?!
We took some photos with the photographer, and walked around the pier, as I was shaking, taking in the fact that we were now ENGAGED (It’s a crazy, indescribable feeling).
About half an hour later, Rahul told me that we were meeting our parents right after to celebrate over lunch, and he takes me to a random building, telling me to get on an elevator with him. As the elevators opened up, 60-70 of our closest family and friends were there to celebrate with us (Some flew in from all over the country), showering us with rose petals. I couldn’t believe it! He really pulled this all off, without me knowing. The amount of detail he put into every single part of the engagement party was honestly the most heartwarming part of this all – From the ‘Welcome’ sign to the food, drinks, favors for our guests, backdrop, and even down to the napkins (Which had our wedding hashtag on it – #RahaniKiKahaani), Rahul truly blew me away, and I could not thank him enough for making our day that much more special by including all our loved ones in the process. I’m truly blessed to have him as a life partner, and cannot imagine anyone else by my side through it all.
Here’s to now planning our dream wedding!
