Rachana and Puneet's story began in 2017. They were studying premed and began bonding over their mutual love for all things Bollywood. The more they got to know each other, they realized that they had many things in common. Little did those two 19-year-olds know, they would have so many more memories they would share together...
First Date:
Puneet asked Rachana out in February 2017 to a nice Thai restaurant in Canton, OH. The two dined on Pad See Ewe, green curry, and sushi. At one point, Rachana jokingly dared Puneet to put the whole scoop of wasabi in his mouth. Much to her surprise, he was so intent on impressing her, he actually accepted the dare! He tried to keep a strong face the entire time, but his eyes told a whole other story lol. Needless to say, they ordered dessert soon after.
After dinner, the two went ice skating together. They *very* quickly found out just how horrible an ice skater Rachana is, but Puneet seized the opportunity to show her the (literal) stability he could offer. They spent the evening stumbling around the rink and learning more about each other, including how tight a death grip Rachana has.
Rachana and Puneet continued to grow their relationship for the 6 years that followed. They celebrated each other's big milestones together: undergrad graduation, medical school white coat ceremonies, residency matches, and medical school commencement. The years came with their own trials including busy schedules, demands of medical school and residency, long distance, but ultimately, they always knew they were better together.
Rachana and Puneet planned their first international trip together to Greece. Rachana spent the weeks leading up to the trip thinking about all the stuffed grape leaves and tzatziki she would eat (spoiler alert: it was A LOT), but Puneet spent them thinking about how he would make this trip as memorable and special as possible.
On the day of the proposal, the day did not go as planned. As Rachana and Puneet were out wandering Santorini, Puneet realized there was rain on the forecast for the rest of the day. Fumbling for damage control and rescheduling the destination photographer, the sun luckily peeked out 30 minutes before the planned shoot. Puneet suggested they go to a quiet neighboring village to catch the perfect sunset. They hurried to steam their outfits using the steamer they brought from the US (of course they had to be wrinkle-free for the photos), and went on to short-circuit the entire hotel just before sunset. They are still surprised they didn't get kicked out after that one.
Once they got to the lookout, Puneet tried to lead Rachana to the perfect spot (that conveniently also happened to be where their photographer was), and the two ended up getting lost. He led her down what felt like a few flights of cobblestone steps (in heels, mind you!) before realizing the photographer and proposal spot were both at the top of the steps. After making it back to the top of the steps, huffing out-of-breath, he got on one knee and popped the question. He brought a whole new meaning to the term "taking her breath away,” and of course she said yes!