We met at UNC Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) when Parag was a Senior and Neke was as Sophomore. Parag saw Neke at Cary Garba and thought she was cute, but was too shy to go up and talk to her. A few weeks later, one of Parag's friends insisted she could help him "crash" a lunch at the dining hall with Neke and her best friends. Parag reluctantly agreed. When Parag sat down at the table for lunch, him and Neke had an instant connection. Though it took her a few months to catch on that he was interested in her, they eventually went on a date and the rest is history!
Parag took Neke to Caffe Luna in downtown Raleigh for their first date. We got seated at the perfect table in the corner by the window. Neke was too nervous to eat her linguini, while Parag was chomping away at his dish. Parag took Neke to a chocolate factory tour afterwards (which turned out to be very anticlimactic), so instead they walked around the park for hours in the freezing cold because they didn't want the night to end.
Parag and Neke went on another date at Southpoint to Zinburger for dinner and Cheesecake factory for dessert, where they split an Oreo Dream Cheesecake. Neke, not knowing how to say no, got roped into trying a skin cream from a lady at a kiosk in the mall. After applying the cream, the lady asked Parag if he thought his girlfriend's hands looked nice. Little did the lady know, Parag and Neke hadn't established being official yet! Parag played it cool and said it looked nice and moved on. Later that night, he would ask her to make it official!
Parag and Neke watched UNC win the National Championship together with their friends at Carolina Ale House on Franklin Street!
Planning a proposal for Neke proved to be one of the most challenging things Parag has ever done. Neke is way too intuitive so Parag had to stay several steps ahead of her to pull off the surprise.
Parag really wanted to propose in DC because Neke loves DC and it would be a central place for our friends and family to come celebrate. He schemed with Neke's best friends, Nirja and Nilam to get her to agree to a girls weekend in DC. This surprisingly was not an easy task. Neke wanted the girls to meet in North Carolina to make it easier for her busy travel plans during her spring break. Parag photoshopped a fake vaccine appointment for Nilam to send to Neke explaining why she had to stay in DC and that they should just meet in DC. Eventually, Neke agreed.
Parag knew that wasn't enough to throw her off so he told her about some plans he made with his camp friends in Kentucky. Knowing that still wouldn't be enough, he posted a fake Instagram story in Kentucky to eliminate any remaining suspicion Neke may have had.
On that Saturday, Neke, Nilam, and Nirja were planning to go to some vineyards around the DC area so they got dressed up. Before going to the vineyards, their plan was to grab brunch at a (non-existent) Tea Room at the Hillwood Estate. While they were waiting for the reservation, they decided to go take pictures in the garden. When Neke was getting ready to pose for a picture on the bridge in the Japanese Garden, Parag came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. Neke was so surprised, her knees dropped to the ground and it looked like she was proposing to him!
After the proposal, Parag, Neke, and their immediate families went to lunch and then got in a limo to go to a vineyard to celebrate. Little did she know, her closest friends and family would be waiting for us at the vineyard. It couldn't have been a more perfect day!