Like more and more couples these days, we first 'met' via an online dating site. After exchanging some messages back and forth, we made a plan to meet at O'Riley & Conway's Irish pub in Janesville, Wisconsin for our first date. Beth was living in Janesville at the time, working as a school psychologist her first year after grad school. Visham was knee-deep in his PhD program at UW-Madison. Surprisingly (or not, considering Midwest weather) there was an April snowstorm that evening. It was bad enough that Visham almost decided to turn around and go home, skipping the date. Thank goodness he braved the weather that night, because this was the true beginning of our love story.

We picked out the engagement ring together in what can only be described as a miraculous feat of decisiveness on Beth's part (someone who regularly struggles to decide what flavor of ice cream she wants). So when Visham bought tickets to a 'wine & paint' class for a random Saturday afternoon in February, Beth had an inkling it could be time for the proposal. Neither of us can claim much artistic ability (Visham cheating his way through art class as a kid and Beth ranked last among every other highly artistic member of her family), but with the instructor's guidance, we each created a beautiful painting. Fully engrossed in putting the finishing touches on her own painting, Beth was unsuspecting when Visham focused her attention on his painting. In the bottom right corner where we were instructed to sign our names, Visham had painted in small black letters, "MARRY ME?" He was ready with the ring and a beautiful smile on his face. Of course, as you all know, she said yes! After congratulations from the instructor and the others in the class, we walked out into the world as a newly engaged couple with a 'wine & paint' project that we will be keeping for the rest of our lives. But the celebration wasn't over yet. Visham had coordinated with all of our Pittsburgh friends to meet up at one of our favorite local breweries. We spent the next several hours celebrating with friends over drinks and dinner.

Before our engagement, we had talked about planning a quick civil wedding ceremony ahead of the full celebration with friends and family. This was prior to all things COVID, and one primary intention (besides our obvious desire to spend the rest of our lives together) was to make it possible to visit Visham's family in Mauritius within that next year. If this doesn't make much sense to you, welcome to the confusing nuances of US immigration policy/procedure. Visham and I were married at a civil ceremony shortly after our engagement in February 2020. While we were overjoyed to take this next step together so quickly, we couldn't imagine missing the opportunity to celebrate with our closest friends and family. Hence, all of this!