They met in Chicago during the fall and had their first date on a Sunday afternoon at the ultra-chic Restoration Hardware (Veena's pick, obviously). Ramu accidentally arrived an hour early (first and only time he's ever been early) because he was still operating on east coast time from work. Veena was charming and sociable; Ramu was a bit quiet and reserved, but he did enough to earn a 2nd date, and a 3rd, and so on :)
He lived in Bucktown; she lived in the South Loop. He would never use the L-train he lived next to; she had a car. He liked to eat tacos; she didn't believe a good taco place existed in Chicago. He loved comedy shows, trying new restaurants, seeing live music, and visiting the baby belugas at the Shedd Aquarium; so did she! They bonded over a mutual interest in avoiding the brutal Chicago winter, which led to tons of fun and exciting dates such as this one at the famous Second City Comedy Club.
The Annamalais never had pets, so Ramu never knew the joys of having a dog...until he met Veena and then Lolly "angel baby" Patel. Lolly jumped up to greet him on their first meeting, pulling out a thread on Ramu's favorite scarf and getting hair all over his dress pants - not a great start. Veena claims that Ramu said he was a "cat person" on their 2nd date, but Ramu doesn't recall this. Veena wondered, "Was this going to be a deal-breaker"!?
No way!! How could anyone not love Lolly (just look at that smile)! Ramu learned to become one with the dog hair and began to love Lolly as his own. Similarly, Ramu's love for Veena continued to grow ...
Veena and Ramu spent 10 days in Europe starting in Venice and driving through beautiful Croatia. Veena found out Ramu thinks any hike is a good hike and he loves a selfie stick more than anyone would think he would. Ramu learned that Veena LOVES gelato, but not as much as mosquitos LOVE her.
Together, they weathered a ferry breakdown detour, a hike down an Italian mountain in a rainstorm, a coastal drive through Bosnia and Herzegovina and potential heat stroke in King's Landing. Still, they LOVED their vacation and wish they could have spent more time there - Ramu was posting about it for weeks after! #latergrams
After finishing her fellowship at University of Chicago, Veena accepted a job in Austin; she always knew she wanted to move back to Texas. Ramu was sick of the wind and winter after 1 year in Chicago and was happy to move to breezy, beautiful (and hot!) Austin with Veena. They packed up their two apartments in one morning (even though Veena forgot to book movers!) and made the three-day trek down to Austin, Texas with Lolly and a Uhaul full of their Chicago memories (and Ramu's furniture).
When the holidays came around, Ramu's and Veena's families got the opportunity to meet at Lakshmi's home in Atlanta. Everyone enjoyed eating traditional South Indian food, looking at Ramu's baby photos (he was SO adorable btw), and trading stories about Ramu and Veena growing up.
Veena completed her undergraduate studies at UT Austin and Ramu's best friends lived in the city, so both were already familiar with the amazing ATX culture - live music, breakfast tacos, and general weirdness. They naturally gravitated towards East Austin, where you can hear your neighbor’s rooster each morning, and pay $7 for a turmeric latte. One of the highlights was their weekend at the Austin City Limits music festival with friends and some of their favorite artists #212121
How do you plan a surprise proposal when you've already booked the wedding venue - it's not easy! But Ramu managed to pull something off that was so uniquely "Veena".
He convinced her that they should take Lolly for a walk on a local trail with some friends. Veena was going to wear sweatpants, but Ramu convinced her to dress nicely and even wear makeup! When their friends were "late", they decided to start the trail on their own. At the lookout point, there was a caricature artist stationed that they sat down for (they wanted to get a caricature while in Croatia, but missed the chance). When the artist revealed her painting, it wasn't a caricature, but a pre-made collage photo of Ramu on one-knee proposing at a lookout point, just like he was doing in real life! Veena said, "Yes!", and they both proceeded to their favorite brunch spot where close friends and family were awaiting them to celebrate!
Veena loved everything about the proposal, especially that Lolly, art, and her family were involved. Ramu was happy that he maintained some element of surprise (and wasn’t late!).
Falling in love was the easy part; planning a wedding - yikes
-Niecy NashTalk about being flexible and managing expectations! Wedding planning can be stressful enough - try planning a wedding during COVID and rain! Here are some of the highlights:
- Canceled Ramu's first trip to Gujarat, but after going clothes shopping with Veena and Geeta in Houston, Ramu couldn't imagine what India would have been like
- Considered multiple wedding planning scenarios for different guest numbers titled Butterfly, Peacock, and Elephant; obviously going with Butterfly
- Held several exclusive cake tasting events at Veena's and Ramu's apartment
- Met weekly/daily over FaceTime with their multi-talented and always available wedding coordinator, Gujarati Samaj of Houston President and Veena's Mom, Geeta Ajit Patel
Through it all, Veena and Ramu are remaining positive and keeping their sanity - they feel very fortunate to have each other during this time and can't wait to marry one another this year!