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Chanda and Loi first met at a small party hosted by mutual friends. Afterward, Chanda saw Loi as a suggested Facebook friend and sent him a request. Loi messaged Chanda back that same night, and they stayed up late chatting. Their first date was lunch and a movie. Later he asked her to be his girlfriend by spelling it out with Boston Crème donuts, and they've been together ever since.
Loi had ambitious plans for his proposal and brought in Chanda's sister-in-law and a few close friends to help him execute the event! Due to unforeseen challenges due to the Covid pandemic, he had to postpone his original plans twice. Not to be deterred, he finally was able to pull off a surprise backyard proposal and created the hashtag #3rdTimesTheCharm to record the event.
The story of Chanda and Loi's backyard proposal starts with a close friend from college, Hani Anis, a South Asian fashion designer and owner of Anis Collections. Several years ago, Hani transformed a dress for Chanda out of her mom's old sarees. To get Chanda away from the house, Handi asked her to model the dress for a photoshoot, allowing Loi to decorate the backyard with help from friends and family. When Chanda returned wearing the beautiful dress, Loi surprised her with a flash mob-style dance to a few Indian songs. On one knee, he asked in both Hindi and English, "Chanda, mujhse shaadi karogi? Will you marry me?" She, of course, said yes! Check out a video of the unique proposal featured by an online news site.
Adeel Malik of Morni Studio captured the couples' Save the Date photos in Ellicott City, MD, a quaint historic town Chanda and Loi often visited for dates. Pink is one of their wedding colors, so they wanted to wear clothes reflective of the theme. Being a graphic designer herself, Chanda designed the Save the Dates, Invitations, and other print materials for their wedding.
As an interracial couple, Chanda, who is Indian, and Loi, who is Vietnamese, really wanted to make sure their wedding represented both of their cultures, so they decided to have two traditional ceremonies on two dates. They are both excited for every ritual and custom that the events come with, including Loi being on a horse for his Indian-style groom's procession and for Chanda to wear a traditional Vietnamese wedding dress called an Ao Dai in the two ceremonies.
