The Meet Cute : At a mutual friend ’ s birthday party in July of 2019 , Meg and Nikhil locked eyes and talked the whole night — and they ’ ve been together ever since .
The Engagement : During their long-distance relationship days when Meg lived in New York City , she and Nikhil would often take walks along the High Line when he visited . After one of their walks , they were window shopping in the Meatpacking District when a bracelet inside a jewelry store caught Meg ’ s attention . She was a bit alarmed when the clerk asked if they were shopping for wedding rings , since they had only been dating for three months . That same night , at a beer garden across the street , the two said “ I love you ” for the first time . Fast-forward a few years : Nikhil and Meg , living in Minneapolis , Minnesota , planned a trip to New York City to visit friends . “ We could go shop for rings at that jewelry store we stumbled into a couple years earlier ,” Nikhil said . On Nov . 6 , 2021 , they again strolled down the High Line toward the Meatpacking District , this time with Meg eager to look at engagement rings . To her surprise , he got down on one knee during their walk , ring in hand . They walked into their special beer garden afterward to celebrate . The second surprise of the day : Nikhil had planned an engagement party disguised as a dinner reservation . A few hours after the beer garden , the two headed to “ dinner ” only to be greeted by all their closest friends .
The First Look : For the Indian ceremony on Friday , Meg and Nikhil followed tradition and didn ' t see each other until the ceremony began . Nikhil was at the altar , or the Mantap , when Meg walked in , with cloth called the antarapata hung between them so they couldn ’ t see each other . When the antarapata was removed , they exchanged traditional varamala garlands , which represents their lives ’ entwining . According to tradition , whoever places the garland over the other first will rule the household ( ultimately Meg was the winner ). On Saturday , they had a first look before the traditional Western ceremony and festivities began .
July 21 – 22 , 2023
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The Two Ceremonies : It was important for Meg and Nikhil to commemorate both cultures for their wedding weekend , so they had an Indian ceremony one day , and a typical Western ceremony the following day . “ People are always amazed that we actually never saw the Friday venue until the day of the ceremony and saw the Saturday venue six months after signing the contract ,” says Meg , who was living in Minnesota during the planning . “ It was too much to travel back and forth to look at venues , and both of us had the mentality of , ‘ If our parents like it , we can look at it on Instagram and if it ’ s within our budget , then why not ?’ We trusted the process .” The couple traveled to India to visit Nikhil ’ s family before the >>
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