Priya & Karan

Karan and I are both from big, loud, wonderfully nosy families — his from Pune, mine split between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. When he decided to propose, he didn't want it to be just the two of us. He wanted everyone there, even if it meant coordinating three sets of flights and about eleven group chats.

He told me we were hosting a 'small family dinner' at his parents' place in Mumbai. I remember being mildly annoyed that I had to dress up for what I thought was just another Sunday lunch. I had no idea my parents had already landed that morning and were hiding in the next room.

Midway through dinner, Karan stood up to 'make a toast,' and by the time I realized what was actually happening, both our families had quietly gathered behind him, phones already recording. He got down on one knee in his parents' dining room, surrounded by everyone who mattered most to both of us.

The ring is a cushion-cut halo set in rose gold — my favorite metal since college, something else he'd clearly filed away and never forgotten. The room erupted the moment I said yes. My mother was crying before I even finished the sentence.

"It wasn't private or quiet, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Our whole families, together, in one room — that's exactly who we are."

— Priya