It was the Fall of 2015 in Champaign, IL when Pooja and Abhinav met, never having crossed paths at UIUC prior to that semester. They were brought together by Business 101 — a course for which they were both Teaching Assistants (TAs). Abhinav’s co-TA just so happened to be none other than Pooja’s best friend, Shivani. Over the course of the semester, Abhinav and Shivani developed a great teaching rapport, leading to Abhinav casually asking Shivani one day… “hey - what’s the 411 on your friend Pooja?” — the one question that changed everything and laid the foundation for Pooja and Abhinav’s relationship to come. Unfortunately, Pooja was soon leaving the country to study abroad in Paris, while Abhinav was finishing off his studies (mostly at Sidebar Red Lion). While Abhinav didn’t have much time to figure out the “411” on Pooja in Champaign, they did stay in touch over the course of the next few months. Pooja showed him the Eiffel Tower, and Abhinav showed her other wonders of the world, like Kams and BIF (UIUC's Gies Business Building). Even as she explored Europe, Abhinav’s GChats and phone calls made her miss home...and of course, him. Once Pooja and Abhinav were back in the same country, they decided to give the relationship a real shot and here we are, 6 years later ready to embark on our next big step!

Abhinav told Pooja to keep a specific Saturday in June free for a friend’s engagement party. He told her he would be wearing a blazer and that she should dress accordingly. This should have been the biggest tip-off because anyone who knows Abhinav knows that he doesn't preplan outfits and definitely prefers Birkenstocks to formalwear. Nevertheless, with her roommates' subtle encouragement, Pooja dressed up and did her hair for the day. As usual, she was running late and Abhinav was waiting outside of her apartment in the 90 degree Chicago heat, regretting his decision to wear a blazer. He drove downtown and pretended not to be irritated at Pooja’s blasé attitude about being 15 minutes late. This was followed by Pooja navigating them to the wrong SpotHero and Abhinav frantically parking in the first spot he found. Finally, they made it to London House, up the elevator and walked onto a private gazebo decorated with flowers and champagne. Once Abhinav got down on one knee and popped the question, he opened the ring box — at which point Pooja practically grabbed for the ring before saying yes. In short - she loved it. After the proposal, Abhinav had planned two more big surprises for Pooja: a lunch at Gibsons Italia with both families and a surprise party at Abhinav’s apartment with their siblings and closest friends. Abhinav was even able to coordinate having all of Pooja’s best friends (and future bridesmaids) come to town from all over the country. The night continued with too many dirty martinis, glasses of rosé and repeated plays of Jalebi Baby. A little teaser before the big day. To all our guests, you’ve been warned - we take our dancing very seriously! It was truly a day and night to remember. We can’t wait to continue the celebrations!