Reeya & Aman

Aman and Reeya first met at a training event in Chicago in their first year at IBM (October 2010). The event was in a hotel downtown and Aman and Reeya first saw each other in the hotel elevator between events. They briefly made eye contact and Aman (allegedly) made a "hilarious" joke during the short ride causing everyone on the elevator to laugh and Reeya to roll her eyes ...

Aman was assigned to the same project as Reeya in Dallas shortly after they first met. Call it a result of close proximity, or fate, they became good friends. Six months later, Reeya moved on to another project. Aman and Reeya continued to keep in touch, but they were unsure if they would ever see each other again...

In January 2013, and at the brink of a quarter-life crisis, Reeya made the difficult decision to leave Texas and start a new life in Chicago. She decided to move in with an old friend (shout out to Mita!)...and of the thousands of possible apartment buildings they could've chosen from, they "unintentionally" (Reeya would like to emphasize this word) selected Aman's building. Aman and Reeya picked up their friendship right where they had left off and soon saw their relationship evolve into a corny couple thing.

After a year in Chicago together, Aman and Reeya applied to graduate school and chose schools in different states. While they knew long distance would be difficult, they were not worried about their future together.

And now, after three long years of spending more time apart than together and switching career paths, the end of long distance is finally in sight. Reeya and Aman are looking forward to starting the next chapter of their lives again in Chicago.

June 13, 2015.

It was one week before Aman's graduation from business school and he told Reeya his fellow Kellogg MBA-ers wanted to start the celebrations early that weekend.

Their three year anniversary had just passed and Reeya had a hunch that Aman would be proposing soon. It was difficult for her to figure out whether he was lying about these plans but that Saturday morning she decided she should straighten her hair and put on makeup just in case.

They hopped in a cab and instead of heading towards the first event (which Aman said was Reeya's favorite activity in the world: a horse race), Reeya was surprised to pull up to Mindy's Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park. Reeya's eyes lit up, partially because she was hungry, but also because the brunch spot was where Aman and Reeya had their first date over three years ago. Aman said he felt bad about dragging her to graduation events all weekend and wanted to have a quick bite at Mindy's before they meet up with his friends at the Lincoln Park zoo. After the zoo, Aman told her they would also squeeze in a trip to the Old Town Art Fair (which was also part of their first date) and promised her they would do something they have failed to do every year since: bring home a piece of art. Still unsure what he was up to, Reeya decided to just go-with-the-flow.

They soon arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo and walked hand in hand through the park. Eventually, they arrived at the Nature Boardwalk and found an easel covered with a purple cloth. There was a note attached to the cloth that said "Do not touch - LP Zoo Property"... and Aman, being the perennial bad boy / rule-breaker that he is, asked Reeya to see what was underneath. Reeya hesitated and looked around for security, and then slowly lifted the cloth.

Underneath, she found a painting (the piece of art Aman had promised her they would go home with... very clever, he knows) depicting the same structure they were under but with a silhouette of a man proposing on one knee. Reeya turned and found Aman mimicking the scene in the painting! He asked her to marry him (in Hindi!!!) and she immediately said yes. After spending a few minutes enjoying the moment, Aman's brother-in-laws (shout out to Sonny and Anuj, who set up and helped execute the whole operation!) emerged from the nearby bushes. They congratulated them and took pictures of the happy couple (like the ones all over our website).

Aman then took Reeya to another surprise location - the hotel they first met in. They even walked into the same elevator they first laid eyes on each other in over five years ago and reminisced about far they had come.

In the evening, Aman still had more surprises up his sleeve: he had orchestrated the arrival of both of their families at his sister's apartment (thank you Savina & Anuj for hosting!), a private dinner for the families, and an after party with their closest friends.

It was a perfect day and a perfect proposal (thank you Aman!) =)

Aman and Reeya would like to thank their amazing families for their unconditional love & support. If it weren't for you, they would not be where they are today! They love you all so much!!

12/30/2015: The most important day of Reeya & Aman's collective lives... Jim Harbaugh returns to lead the Michigan Wolverines. Hail & Go Blue.