We met during our senior year of high school through a mutual friend who kept mentioning Sejal to Dipen. Intrigued, he messaged her to try to figure out what all the hype was about— it didn't take long. A few short conversations turned into hours-long video calls and these two strangers turned into close friends. Dipen eventually asked Sejal to go to prom with him at a candle-lit gazebo, straight out of Sejal's Bollywood dreams. Somewhere down the line, we both realized that we had become more than just friends and decided to turn our friendship into a relationship. As we grew up, we experienced a lot of highs and lows together— triumphs, losses, celebrations, defeats, long-distance, reunions, and everything in between. We could only have dreamed about being where we are right now and are so thankful for the journey and the people that led us to this point.

A few weeks after our families had met and given us their blessing for us to get married, Dipen told Sejal to keep November 13th free for his cousin's engagement party. Sejal, in her true investigative nature, had to ask a hundred questions— What cousin? What's his fiancée's name? Where is it? How did he propose? What should I wear? Are your parents and sister coming? All to which Dipen responded, "I don't know." Now Sejal was *really* suspicious. How was she supposed to just go along with a plan to go to an unknown cousin's kids-only engagement party wearing a cocktail dress at 11 AM?? But she did it anyway, not wanting to pry anymore and foil Dipen's plans. On a sunny Saturday morning, Dipen and Sejal made their way to Frelinghuysen Arboretum. Dipen led Sejal to the venue where he said his cousin's party was but wouldn't let her go inside. He said they were really early and insisted that they go walk around the arboretum while they waited. Hand in hand, they walked down a cobblestone pathway and began to hear soft romantic music playing. He led her through a path of autumn leaves and rose petals to a gazebo decorated with flowers, candles, and pictures of them throughout the years. At the end of his heartfelt speech, Dipen finally got down on one knee and asked "Will you marry me?" to which Sejal exclaimed "Yes!"