Real Weddings: The Unintentional Love Story

On June 1, 2018, a perfect New York city summer evening, Meena's sister, Nina, had invited her to a National Geographic Event at The Rainbow Room at the Top of 30 Rockefeller Center. Varun met the sisters at the top of 30 Rockefeller center in the Rainbow Room. Nina excused herself and Varun took Meena to the deck to see the beautiful NYC skyline at sunset. He took her to a private table and proposed on the spot. She said yes, and if you haven't guessed yet, the event was for them! Shortly after, they were joined by their parents and siblings for a champagne toast. To top off the most perfect evening, all of Varun and Meena's friends arrived at the Rainbow Room for a final surprise! The next day the newly minted couple hosted an engagement brunch, bringing together friends and family from all walks of life.

They both have a passion for exploring New York, the world, and the culture. Together they have visited Montreal, Dominican Republic, Delhi, Hyderabad, Dubai, San Juan, St. Kitts & Nevis, Amalfi Coast, Rome, Lake Como, Mallorca, San Sebastian, Paris and are still counting their future travel spots.

After only a few dates, Varun and Meena decided to introduce each other to their siblings. They had brunch at Cafeteria in Chelsea that turned into a walking the Highline and ending late in the evening with drinks at Chelsea Market. They quickly realised how alike both their families were. The siblings became friends immediately, creating an entire new family-friend dynamic that none of them had ever experienced before. They four of them jokingly refer to themselves to as the "eLITe" crew.

One of the most telling moments of their relationship was 6 months into the relationship, when Meena and Varun were having a heartfelt conversation. Meena's father had passed away 6 months before the couple had met. One evening, they were enjoying happy hour after work when they were reminiscing about Meena's father. Varun looked at Meena in the eyes and said "I know this is odd, but even though I never met your father, I feel like I know him. I feel like he brought us together." This was something Meena had felt ever since meeting Varun, and was left completely speechless at their emotional conversation.

On one early spring night, Meena and Varun met up for a date at a rooftop restaurant called Spyglass. As they overlooked the beautiful Empire State Building, Varun first asked Meena to be his girlfriend to make things official. Varun and Meena quickly hit their stride. Later on that spring, at the Eataly rooftop, they exchanged their first I love you's to each other. It was then that they realised that the idea of marriage was not so far off.

The biggest challenge was that they practically led a long distance relationship, with Meena in the Upper East Side and Varun in Chelsea on the West Side. They both quickly realised that they shared the same values and vision for life, with family being the most important aspect. Meena has a younger sister Nina and Varun a younger brother, Sahil.

Varun and Meena met on January 20, 2017. They went on their first date to ABC Cocina and immediately hit it off, and thus began their New York love story. Whenever they were able to make some time out from their busy schedules, Meena and Varun explored the best of what New York had to offer, exploring new restaurants, rooftops and neighbourhoods.

In 2016, Meena's friends had mentioned Varun to Meena as they thought they would be a great fit. Busy with her residency, Meena didn't want to be distracted from her work. However, fate intervened as Varun independently saw a Facebook post of a picture of Meena with their mutual friends and of course, inquired.