SNEHA + ABHI | TEXAS

from The Annual Issue 2024

Past meets Present

We often share that our love story began with a “like” and a leap of faith. But we joke about how some strategic “location-fishing” led to our match on Hinge. Sneha, believing that she shouldn’t limit her opportunities for love to just Houston, had recently expanded her radius to include multiple cities. Meanwhile, Abhi was living his best life in Austin, unaware that his perfect match was reeling him in from 165 miles away.

After two virtual dates, Sneha convinced her friend Jaime to make a slight (read: significant) detour to Austin en route to Dallas. Jaime, the ultimate wingwoman, agreed, despite Austin being off-course. The plan? Jaime would drop Sneha off for a date, then continue to Dallas while Sneha caught a flight later that evening to meet Jaime and her girlfriends for a fun weekend. A risky move? Absolutely. Worth it? Without a doubt.

Our first in-person meeting was nothing short of magical. We kicked things off with cocktails at P6 overlooking the lake with the sun setting on Austin’s skyline. From there, we zoomed around downtown on scooters, ate delicious food, and talked non-stop, letting a few sparks fly.

By the time Sneha had to be dropped at the airport, it was clear we had stumbled upon something special. What followed was a series of whirlwind weekends, shuttling between Houston and Austin, with a few out-of-state adventures thrown in for good measure. Time seemed to speed up as we spent more moments together, and a few years of memories and milestones quickly went by, culminating in a spontaneous decision to book a trip to Italy. We’d always wanted to go, and a good flight deal was all the convincing we needed. Fast forward to our Italian escapade—two weeks packed with pasta, picturesque views, and plans for our first professional photoshoot. Each day had a different activity, with a few surprise activities we had planned for each other. Abhi had planned his surprise activity in the Amalfi town of Positano.

On the morning of May 15th, Abhi suggested an early trip to Positano Beach to take some pictures of the famous view of the town before the planned surprise activity. Armed with a tripod and a sense of anticipation, we arrived at an almost deserted beach, save for a few photographers and morning walkers. As we were setting up for a picture, one of the photographers approached and suggested using his camera and giving us the photos for free. Suspicious? Yes. Sneha was catching on.

When the photographer had Sneha look away, then back at Abhi, there he was, down on one knee, asking the most important question of our lives. The ensuing moments were a blur of joy and tears, captured perfectly by our impromptu photographer. Despite the looming rain forecast, the weather held out just long enough for our proposal. As soon as Abhi slipped the ring on Sneha’s finger, we were greeted with a gentle drizzle—romantic, right?

Our Italian adventure turned into a lifelong memory, marking the beginning of our forever. And the next part is when the fun really began - wedding planning!

Our four-day wedding took place at locations in both downtown Austin and nearby Dripping Springs in late April. It all began with the Haldi and Mehendi festivities at the Arlo, where we wove an Italian flair into our celebrations as a nod to our time abroad. The following evening we held our Sangeet at the Fairmont in downtown Austin. With Sneha owning a bespoke wedding choreography business herself, Sunrise Dance, everyone knew they had to bring their A-game with their performances. The following morning was our wedding ceremony, surrounded by the beauty of the Texas hill country at our venue, Camp Lucy. The grand finale - our reception - held a speakeasy theme. With the attendees refreshed from the ceremony the day before and ready to party, the reception burst into life, becoming a grand celebration.

Our team of amazing vendors, family members, and friends that all came together to bring our dream wedding to life. We cannot thank everyone enough!

From a “like” on Hinge to a proposal on the Amalfi Coast to our four-day dream wedding, our journey has been a blend of spontaneity, serendipity, and a lot of love.