I met Sarindee in March 2016, when a few of my buddies made a trip up to D.C. to visit our good friend, Saat. He had arranged a tour of the White House for us, and happened to have 2 extra tickets- being ever mindful of the male-to-female ratio, he invited Sarindee and a friend to join us... So we met, and she was super nice and fun to hang with, but a little too "DC-life" absorbed for my taste. I remember her talking about her job with GPG, big plans to move to New York, her 5-year life plan, yada yada yada...
We had exchanged info, and loosely kept in touch the way millennials know best- the occasional likes on IG and comments on Facebook posts. However, unbeknownst to me, her and one of my friends on the trip, Priya, had kept in touch and become good friends. Priya ultimately made a last-minute decision to invite Sarindee to her and Vikas's wedding in July 2017. And that's when the story really begins.
I distinctly remember driving a U-Haul with one of my best friends, Alex, as he helped me move from Philly back to Chicago- I randomly got a text from Sarindee telling me she's going to be at the wedding and wants to see some of Chicago while she's there.
Game on.
Fast forward to the wedding weekend, where we see each other and catch up. Since I'm literally 1 of 2 people she knows at the wedding besides Prikas, she ends up spending a lot of time around me and the other groomsmen, helping with the dance practices, hanging out, etc. As I get more comfortable, naturally I start sending some feelers-- a couple witty one-liners here, some DMs there, texting her a little more... just going through the playbook, so to speak. And she plays along too so there's definitely some chemistry starting to form.
The Sunday after the wedding, Sarindee's flight isn't until the late evening so we plan to sightsee around Chicago. However, I had to call a last-minute audible because my mom had slipped and hurt her arm at the reception so I wanted to stop home to check on her. I asked Sarindee if that's okay and she's completely fine with it. So here I am bringing home this girl that I'm still very much feeling out, and next thing I know I'm introducing her to my mom, dad, ba, and dada. I still remember my dada immediately sizing her up and down, and then giving his nod of approval with a "hmm, saree dekhai che" (his way of saying she passes the eyeball test). We end up stopping home longer than anticipated and even having lunch there before we left for the city. Guess that's Sarindee for you, whether she means to or not, she has a way of just weaseling her way in to your life. It was a small gesture, but to me it spoke volumes about the type of girl she was.
Ultimately, we make it to downtown Chicago and have a great time together. On the ride to the airport, she decides to play a question game, where we're just taking turns asking each other any and all questions about life, outlooks, etc. It’s the first time we've really had a substantive conversation to that extent. There ends up being an inordinate amount of traffic, even by Chicago standards, and as we're finally reaching O'Hare, I realize 3 things: 1) there's a lot more to Sarindee than meets the eye, and we were actually remarkably aligned in many of our life views, 2) she's cutting it very close and might miss her flight, 3) I wasn't ready to say goodbye to her.
As I drop her off and she starts running to the door to make her flight, I have this sinking feeling that I really should have said or done something. I didn't. Pansy. Well, it turns out the universe was working in my favor that day. No more than 10 minutes into my drive back, I get a call from Sarindee saying they had cut off boarding. Thank you, Spirit Airlines! I whipped the car around and went to go pick her up. We spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other more. She ultimately fell asleep on my shoulder while watching a documentary—drool and all.
After she flew back home the following day, I knew I quickly and decisively had to make my move. I remember her telling me one of the things that is most important to her in a relationship was feeling like her significant other makes her a priority. And also how much she loved sweets, especially macarons. So that night I overnight shipped her a box of macaroons from Olivia Macarons in D.C. (which unbeknownst to me, happened to be her favorite). And for the message on the notecard, I wrote, “Because every once in a while, you deserve to be someone's priority too.”
Hook. Bait. Sinker.
We talked incessantly for the next few weeks, and two weeks later, I convinced her to fly back to Chicago to visit. It was a gorgeous Chicago summer weekend—the kind that makes all the dreadful winter ones worth it. We had a night out with all of my friends, and spent the rest of the weekend living our best lives—visiting the Adler, boating on the Chicago river, rooftop bars, driving down lakeshore. I even took her to get her first tattoo that weekend. (fun fact- she told her parents she was coming to Chicago to visit UChicago and Northwestern’s MBA schools. I can only imagine their reaction when she came back home with no further information about either program, but instead a brand new tattoo…)
I fell hard for Sarindee, in a way I never had before. I guess when you know, you know. That weekend, on July 22nd, 2017, I asked her to be my girlfriend. It’s been my greatest adventure yet, and we haven’t looked back since.
In March 2018, she made the plunge and moved to Chicago for me.
On May 18th, 2019, I told her what I’d known for a long time—that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and asked her to be my wife. (Spoiler alert- she said yes).
And now, on August 28th, 2021, we get to make that official. Surrounded by all the people we love most, in the city where our story first started :)
IYRTITL.
Why is it that the best love stories are the ones you didn’t even see coming?
I first met Raj at The White House (while Obama was President, might I add) on a tour. He was there visiting our mutual friend Saat. Saat being the DC socialite he is, knew there would be a lot of guys there and urged me to come “and please bring good looking girlfriends too.” While I had no desire to do yet another WH tour or meet any boys (working girls, y’all feel me?) After some convincing from my friend and bridesmaid Sam, we decided to go. And that is the story of how I met the wonderful….Priya!
Yes, Raj and I met and while I thought he was cute and funny I was too busy hitting it off with Priya who came on the tour with them. We clicked immediately and continued to talk and be friends long after the whole crew left DC and went back to Chicago (Shoutout to SnapChat friendships!) Priya invited me to her wedding a year later and again, I was hesitant to go. We had only met that one time, so for starters I thought this was way too nice of her to invite someone she barely knows. It also happened to be on my dad’s birthday - July 8th. This is the part where people usually say “now I don’t believe in fate but…” except I absolutely believe in fate so y’all know I truly believe everything in this story went exactly according to how it was supposed to - even the parts that didn’t go to plan. My dad was still in Sri Lanka for his birthday, and I was in a pretty low place in life after having endured the passing of 2 of my friends, my uncle, my great grandmother, and my cousin all in the span of a few months. So, my best friend Olivia pushed me to just book the ticket and attend the wedding to just have a change of scenery and something to look forward to. I kid you not (Olivia is the queen of manifestation, y'all) she said to me "Who knows, you might even meet someone special."
Fast forward to the wedding (which was absolutely beautiful) - I ended up spending most of my time with Raj & his friends (the groomsmen) and helping them practice their dances (which of course, Raj had choreo’d). The dance moves were impressive and that night at the reception I also had the pleasure of seeing Raj MC for the first time. Now if any of you have seen Raj MC at a wedding reception - you know that you can’t help but be completely charmed by his humor, wit, and talent.
Lucky for me, Raj had promised to take me sightseeing in CHI the next day before my flight. So off we went and first stop...his parents house. For those of you who know Raj you probably think “classic Raj”. For those of you who know me, you probably think “classic Sarindee.” Well, yes this is why it works. Family first - period. His mom had taken a fall at the reception and he wanted to check on her. While he was there, he also wanted to check on his grandparents. So one lunch with the whole family, multiple health check-ups later, we went on our way...but not before Harshika aunty gave me Meera’s sandals to wear because I forgot to bring anything but heels. I don’t know what was more surprising - how comfortable his parents felt with me already or that me and his sister were the same size (that NEVER happens when you’re my size).
The way to the airport we decided to play “The Question Game” (my fave way to get to know someone) and honestly, I knew after that car ride that he was special and I’m done for. Here’s where the universe really made it work for us. I ran to my gate but still ended up missing my flight. Another sign :) Eventually, when I got home the next day to GA - I had a box of Olivia Macarons (my FAVE) from Georgetown, DC with a note. A note that was the smoothest, sweetest gesture I had gotten from a guy EVER.
He asked me to come back to Chicago so he can take me out on a proper date & I said “how’s next week?” 2 weeks later, I had the most magical summertime Chicago date & he asked me to be his girlfriend before I flew back (talk about going after what you want). I said “yes” and I have been saying “yes” to him & our relationship ever since!
I love to write but I have to say, I couldn't have written anything more beautiful than our love story. He's the best thing that ever happened to me, my absolute proudest accomplishment...and I cannot be more excited to write this next chapter with my Raj(a) <3
BF & GF July 22, 2017 | Chicago, IL
ENGAGED May 18, 2019 | Chicago, IL
(to be) MARRIED August 28, 2021 | Chicago, IL
What can I say...we love a good #SummertimeCHI ❤️