Our story began in the most unexpected but classic, storybook fashion. It all started in a small town in Michigan called Saginaw. Both of us have strong connections to Saginaw, but we didn’t realize how integral it would be until Ayesha’s mom, Suseela, ran into Adithya’s aunt, Prabha, at the local temple. Being longtime friends, they got to chatting. As you can imagine, they had a lot to catch up on, especially since this was right after quarantine lifted. During the conversation, they realized that we both live in Denver. They exchanged our phone numbers and passed them on to us in hopes that we may meet a kind person in a big city and a resource for each other. To this day, they both claim their intentions were pure and that they had no ulterior motives. But we didn’t see it that way. We both were very busy at that time and didn’t want to be bothered by a potential “set up”. We simply ignored the texts from our families. Little did we know that fate had other plans for us. A few months later, Adithya was back in Saginaw for a religious holiday. Without fail, Prabha Aunty asked about Ayesha and was dismayed to find out that he didn’t contact her. Now with Prabha Aunty watching, Adithya had no choice but to contact Ayesha. Within the first few brief texts, we realized that not only did we live in the same city, but the same borough and not only that, we lived in the same apartment complex, just one floor apart! This was just too much of a coincidence. There was something bigger here than just two longtime friends, from a little town in Michigan, chatting about their families. Since we were essentially neighbors, this gave us an additional reason to meet instead of just brushing off our families, again. Our first outing was to a charity event at a local animal shelter. Of course Luca, Ayesha’s dog, tagged along. The drive was filled with beautiful mountain scenery, amazing music, and wonderful conversation. Throughout the day, we never stopped talking! Time flew by. Neither of us wanting the day to end, we decided to go to dinner. We stayed at the restaurant for hours just talking about whatever came to our minds. We realized we had so many common interests including our love of animals. The very next day, Adithya asked Ayesha to go with him to help pick up his new puppy! This resulted in lots of playdates between Sophie and Luca, which in turn led to us spending more time together. Every moment we spent together, we learned something new about the other person. Like how Adithya loved the mountains and outdoors and how Ayesha enjoyed being creative in her downtime. Our friendship kept growing until it was undeniable that something special was there. The following year was filled with many adventures exploring beautiful Colorado, trying new foods and discovering each other’s likes and dislikes. We spent many days just enjoying each other’s company. We intrinsically knew that we were meant for each other. On November 11th, 2023, Adithya enlisted the help of some mutual friends and planned a trip to the Denver Botanical Gardens. We toured the gardens, took lots of pictures and were having a good time with our friends. As we came up on a bridge overlooking a beautiful river surrounded by lush greenery, Adithya knelt down and proposed! Naturally Ayesha said yes! Adithya planned it all so meticulously. It was a huge surprise for Ayesha. Soon more friends popped out from behind the trees and bushes. Needless to say, the rest of the day was magical, filled with lots of laughter and joy. Thinking back, there were way too many coincidences for us to believe anything other than we were meant to be. Our meeting was inevitable and growing closer together was effortless. This past year has been one wonderful moment after another. Planning our future together, getting to know each other’s families, and preparing for this celebration; it has just been amazing! We are very excited to spend this day with you all!