Like many modern love stories, ours started on a dating app. We matched for weeks, but didn’t actually start talking until the Super Bowl. While watching the Kansas City Chiefs lose, Asiful — heartbroken, emotionally devastated, and slightly dramatic — finally decided to send Jinneea a message. Luckily, she happened to be a Taylor Swift fan feeling the exact same pain. Our first date was on Valentine’s weekend at Scaddabush in Square One — Jinneea’s favorite restaurant. Getting there was a mission in itself: a huge snowstorm had hit and the parking lot was completely packed. Even the dessert place we went to afterwards had somehow run out of dessert. By all accounts, it should have been a disaster… but somehow, it turned out to be magical. The food was great, but the company was even better — some might even say it was perfectly serendipitous. <3

Asif’s Proposal to Jinneea I always knew I wanted the proposal to be a complete surprise. I love surprises, even though Jinneea absolutely hates them. So when she mentioned wanting to dress up and go out for dinner on New Year’s Eve, it immediately felt like the perfect opportunity. With the help of her brother, who wisely talked me out of proposing outside in the middle of winter, we booked a studio space and planned everything down to the smallest detail. Unfortunately, on the day of the proposal, I came down with one of the worst flus I’ve ever had. I was running on cold medicine, adrenaline, and pure determination to make it through the night. To keep the surprise alive, I lied about the ring not being ready and I took a detour away from the resteraunt saying we were going to a thank a friend for getting us the last minute reservation at a fancy restaurant. Jinneea definitely had her suspicions, but somehow, I still managed to surprise her. The moment we walked in, “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift, our song, started playing. Waiting inside were our closest family and friends, and that’s when I asked her to marry me. The next day, once the adrenaline wore off and the medication stopped carrying me through life, I spent the entire day feeling like a zombie. Completely worth it.