Dipali and Niel lived less than 5 minutes away from each other their whole lives but it took going to DePaul University in Fall of 2014 for them to meet. They both rushed for AKPsi and joined Chicago Adaa their first year in the city. The countless train rides to dance practice, long drives to competitions, and hours of prepartion for rush led them to go from awkward acquaintances to becoming the best of friends.
A year later, Dipali noticed that Niel was passing hints and when Niel finally told her he had feelings for her and they should continue hanging out, Dipali said "Maybe" and gave him a high-five. That didn't stop Niel, he insisted on dropping Dipali off to her dorm every night, offer her help in her accounting classes, and invite her to watch 3-hour long Bollywood movies. Eventually, the soft side of Niel won Dipali over and they gradually started to date.
After 4 years at DePaul, they both went on to do their masters at Northwestern University in different programs. They felt lucky that that had the opportunity to further their careers in same city and push each other through the exams, papers, and late nights. They loved calling Chicago their home and continued to bond over their love of good food (Specifically, Pequods Pizza).
Over the course of 9 years, they both have ate, celebrated, and laughed SO much. Their families met, friends became closer, and they got to see it all together. As soon as Niel neared completion of his MBA, he knew it was time to take the next step. Niel proposed in the city where they met and grew up together, Chicago. Though Niel never officially asked Dipali to be his girlfriend (and their friends still laugh about this), he did officially ask Dipali to be his wife, and this time she said "Yes".
We're tying the knot and celebrating 10 years together! Our story is just at the beginning, and this day marks the start of our next chapter together.