Wedding Ideas

Disha and Shil’s Paris Engagement

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Allison Dupree

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Disha-Shil-Paris
Cengiz Ozelsel
How did you two meet? Shil and I are high school sweethearts and have been together for 6 years. We met in 2007 at Parsippany Hills High School, when I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. It was the first week of school and his cousin, who was in the same grade as me, introduced us in the upper hallway. Disha-Shil-ParisIt was a very basic, “Hi, I’m Shil”, “Hi, I’m Disha”. In the summer of 2008, we became real friends. By the summer of 2009, we were best friends, and talked to each other day and night. That fall, it was obvious that we had fallen for each other. Since then, a big part of me knew that Shil was special and would be special to me…forever. Disha-Shil-ParisOn August 15, 2011, before I went away to college, Shil officially asked me to be his girlfriend. This “proposal” was more than just “Hey, wanna be my girlfriend?” That day, Shil gave me a promise ring (that initially fell out of his shorts pocket and in my couch when he was in the process of asking me out). Not only did the ring represent commitment and love, but it featured a hidden sapphire gemstone symbolizing sincerity and faithfulness. Disha-Shil-ParisHe kept his promise and exactly six years later, our love story continued in the magical city of Paris. This time, he did not lose the ring!! Disha-Shil-ParisWhen did you get engaged? 08/15/2017 Where did you get engaged? Paris, France Disha-Shil-ParisThe engagement story: Shil popped the question at sunrise on August 15th, 2017 at the Trocadéro in Paris, France with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. Shortly after, 15 of our friends and family members surprised me! Disha-Shil-ParisIn August of 2016, I went to India for 2.5 weeks. Upon my return, Shil mentioned taking a look at rings for fun- just to see what’s out there because we had known for a long time that regardless of when it was going to be, we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives. At that point, we were nowhere near ready to be engaged, so in my mind, we were REALLY just going for fun. Disha-Shil-ParisA few months later, he mentioned taking a trip to Europe, which I had previously told him (several times) I was dying to take. With my career, the summer is the best time for me to go and so, Shil decided to find out when in the summer months he could get a decent amount of time off. He told me June and July were busy for him at work (which now I know was a lie) and so, he couldn’t go until August. I hadn’t thought of it as anything at the time and just agreed. Disha-Shil-ParisAt that point, I was hoping we could go either during my birthday or our 6 year anniversary so we’d have something special to celebrate. We ended up planning to be abroad for our anniversary. Somehow, he made it so that we would be in Paris for it, which again I didn’t think much of. I was excited that we’d get to be in the most romantic city in the world to celebrate our anniversary. Disha-Shil-ParisHowever, all along, Shil had already finalized the ring and hired a photographer for the surprise proposal and an engagement photoshoot. He somehow also managed to invite all of our family and friends there without me knowing. Disha-Shil-ParisHe told me about the photoshoot earlier this year, in May of 2017.He said as an anniversary gift, he bought us a Paris couple’s photoshoot package, since he knows how much I cherish photos because they never change or go away, even when the moments do. Best gift ever!! Well…after the dreamy proposal and gorgeous ring! Disha-Shil-ParisLittle did I know, our anniversary shoot was going to turn into a proposal, with our beloved family and friends present- some of which were going to join us for the remainder of our trip.