S
F
S
M
B
B
From Aparna, the bride: We met almost eight (!!) years ago - September of 2009 - at the University of Michigan. Aparna and I first met in September of 2009 because we were at tryouts for a dance team at UofM. (Aparna): Specifically, I totally remember after callback auditions asking him if he was the same Jay Kachoria that my best friend went to high school with. He was. (Jay): One day soon after that, Aparna texted me when I was in my Bio class because she spotted me across the lecture hall. Since then, we sat next to one another every day and studied together. We also made sure that we had at least one class with one another every semester since then. (Aparna): Jay did such a good job with the proposal! I knew vaguely it was coming but didn't know details. We planned a trip with his sister and her husband to Traverse City and right before leaving, Jay's sister and I went to get our nails done (which I thought was a definite sign that no we're not getting engaged this weekend, because how obvious is that?)...and then the weekend unfolded... (Jay): As soon as Aparna and I had decided that we wanted to get married, I began brainstorming how I wanted to propose. I knew that Aparna and I weren't big on the theatrics and we would feel better if it was low-key and had people we cared about around us. I figured that the Sand Dunes trek would be the best place to do it because it's a relatively involved climb but the view at the end of Lake Michigan is absolutely stunning. I worked up a plan to go on a trip to Traverse City with Aparna and have my sister and brother-in-law join us---they were in on the proposal. I figured end of May would be good because it would be good weather and make the dune climb especially fun. Well the weekend rolled around and instead of being warm and sunny, it was cold, cloudy, and rainy with a high in the mid 40s. Not what I had wanted or expected. Despite all of that though, we made the most of the weekend by exploring downtown Traverse City, eating great food, and checking out a few wineries. When the time came to go out to the sand dunes, Aparna asked if we really should considering how cold it was. My sister threw me a nervous glance but I reassured Aparna that we should since we came out all this way for the dunes. When we got to the sand dunes, we had to layer up because of how cold and windy it was. We did the hike which seemed a lot harder than usual and eventually made it to the shores of Lake Michigan. Though it was incredibly frigid, the sun had finally come out, and I got down on one knee and proposed. We had planned to stay on the beach for a little, have some food, enjoy the view, and then head back. However, it was far too cold, so we headed back immediately. That night, we went out for some ice cream and played some boardgames in the hotel room to relax. In both of our opinions, the entire weekend perfectly encompassed the type of people we are.
From Aparna, the bride: We met almost eight (!!) years ago - September of 2009 - at the University of Michigan. Aparna and I first met in September of 2009 because we were at tryouts for a dance team at UofM. (Aparna): Specifically, I totally remember after callback auditions asking him if he was the same Jay Kachoria that my best friend went to high school with. He was. (Jay): One day soon after that, Aparna texted me when I was in my Bio class because she spotted me across the lecture hall. Since then, we sat next to one another every day and studied together. We also made sure that we had at least one class with one another every semester since then. (Aparna): Jay did such a good job with the proposal! I knew vaguely it was coming but didn't know details. We planned a trip with his sister and her husband to Traverse City and right before leaving, Jay's sister and I went to get our nails done (which I thought was a definite sign that no we're not getting engaged this weekend, because how obvious is that?)...and then the weekend unfolded... (Jay): As soon as Aparna and I had decided that we wanted to get married, I began brainstorming how I wanted to propose. I knew that Aparna and I weren't big on the theatrics and we would feel better if it was low-key and had people we cared about around us. I figured that the Sand Dunes trek would be the best place to do it because it's a relatively involved climb but the view at the end of Lake Michigan is absolutely stunning. I worked up a plan to go on a trip to Traverse City with Aparna and have my sister and brother-in-law join us---they were in on the proposal. I figured end of May would be good because it would be good weather and make the dune climb especially fun. Well the weekend rolled around and instead of being warm and sunny, it was cold, cloudy, and rainy with a high in the mid 40s. Not what I had wanted or expected. Despite all of that though, we made the most of the weekend by exploring downtown Traverse City, eating great food, and checking out a few wineries. When the time came to go out to the sand dunes, Aparna asked if we really should considering how cold it was. My sister threw me a nervous glance but I reassured Aparna that we should since we came out all this way for the dunes. When we got to the sand dunes, we had to layer up because of how cold and windy it was. We did the hike which seemed a lot harder than usual and eventually made it to the shores of Lake Michigan. Though it was incredibly frigid, the sun had finally come out, and I got down on one knee and proposed. We had planned to stay on the beach for a little, have some food, enjoy the view, and then head back. However, it was far too cold, so we headed back immediately. That night, we went out for some ice cream and played some boardgames in the hotel room to relax. In both of our opinions, the entire weekend perfectly encompassed the type of people we are.
S
F
S
M
B
B
S
N
S
T