OUR STORY

Rinil and Ammie were introduced by mutual friends of their parents a week prior to their first date. In Rinil’s version of this story, he was reluctant to text Ammie. In real life, they talked all week and hit it off right away. They decided to meet in person to see how it played out. On the day of their first date, a nor’easter storm was projected to blanket the Philadelphia area with snow. As the day progressed, Ammie realized the driving conditions would be bad because her classes were let out early. She texted Rinil to consider rescheduling. To play it cool, Rinil said no worries, and that he was already on the way but he would just hang out with his friends instead (he didn’t actually have any friends in Philadelphia). Luckily, the weather cleared up later that evening and they met up for their first date. They ended up missing their dinner reservation, talked all evening, and ended up making a trip to the Rocky Steps, where they quickly planned their second date. And the rest… is history.

THE PROPOSAL

RINIL’S PERSPECTIVE:

Rinil’s original plan was to propose in Jamaica following a mission trip. Given the number of questions Ammie asked and his suspicion that she may be catching on, he changed that plan. He knew it would be nearly impossible to surprise her and that he had to throw Ammie off her game somehow. Rinil started to plant seeds that lead Ammie to believe that he would propose to her in September, during their trip to Portugal. He inquired about Flytographer and asked Ammie to keep one day on the Portugal itinerary completely open, as he had planned something special for them. A couple of months before their planned trip, Rinil convinced Ammie that he had entered a charity raffle for a private sailing tour of NY. Of course Rinil “won” the raffle. To keep up the charade, he mentioned that it was a four person private sailing trip, and he pulled two of their friends into the loop. On the day of the sailing trip, his friends “hit a lot of traffic crossing the Lincoln Tunnel and would be running late”. He had to warn the captain ahead of time that Ammie would most definitely try to convince them to delay setting sail in order for their friends to make it to the trip. The captain was firm and held his ground, despite Ammie’s attempts at bargaining for time. So the boat set sail and the two enjoyed views of the city from the water, Rinil asked the captain to show them the DUMBO area, where Ammie and Rinil had spent a lot of time during their first several dates. He stopped the boat with views of DUMBO ahead. Rinil took out his phone and showed Ammie a video he had made of their time together. Ammie, of course was crying. Rinil then got down on one knee (with one hand holding the ring, and the other holding the boat as it rocked) and asked Ammie to marry him. The evening was filled with surprises, happy tears, friends, and family joining in the celebrations.

AMMIE’S PERSPECTIVE:

Ammie had a residual suspicion that Rinil would propose on one of the trips they had planned for the summer. She was sure that he would propose in Jamaica, when he insisted that they make it to a specific sunset point, the second to last day of their trip. She even did her hair in humid Jamaica (picture Monica from Friends the second she stepped out of her hotel room). The entire evening went by and NO RING. Upon returning to the states, she realized that Rinil was planning to propose in Portugal. The obvious sign was when he tried to casually set up a vacation photoshoot via Flytographer. Ammie started to order new outfits and accessories to ensure that she looked her best, and more importantly- camera ready, on every day of the trip. As the summer progressed, Rinil won a raffle for a double date private sailing trip with their friends. She coordinated timing and attire with the couple, not knowing that they were never planning on joining Ammie and Rinil for the tour. As Ammie and Rinil arrived to the marina to embark on their tour, their friends called and revealed that “they were still in traffic” and would not make it to the boat on time. Ammie was annoyed with the captain for not waiting an extra 15 minutes to depart. They went on the boat tour and she noticed Rinil was a little more jittery than usual but she wrote it off, as she assumed it was because they had to rush to get onto the boat. The tour continued and they ended up near the DUMBO area, which held a special place in Ammie’s heart. Rinil walked to the front of the rocking sailboat and asked Ammie to join him. He pulled out his phone and shared with her a video he had made. He got on one knee, at which point Ammie was already ugly crying because she thought the video was the surprise, little did she know that Rinil had planned to pop the question. The rest of the evening was filled with celebrations, family, and friends – everything that Ammie wanted.