The long way
to someone close.
Some stories take you around the world.
Ours brought us back to each other.
Before we knew our story
Seven kilometres.
One shared beginning.
Before there was an us, there were two homes just seven kilometres apart. Close enough to belong to the same little corner of the world. And for six months, our worlds were even closer: we both went to St. Joseph English Medium School, Keezhoor. Riya was in LKG, and Algin was in Standard 1.
We couldn’t have known then that one day we’d be telling this story together. But tucked away in an old photograph is a little glimpse of us, long before there was an us.
Life would take us much further from home before we found our way back to each other.
A little further from home
Seventy kilometres.
In the UK, it was London for one of us and Oxford for the other. The distance between us had grown from seven kilometres to seventy. But this time, something was different: we were finally finding our way towards each other.
Two cities. Two lives. And the beginning of a reason to make the journey.
A new beginning in Liverpool
Something warm.
Something sweet.
Years after those school days, we met in Liverpool over hot chocolate and cake. A simple beginning to a very different chapter, and one that still feels like ours.
Just the two of us, getting to know each other anew, not yet knowing how much this small moment would come to mean.
Then came another meeting. And another. Somewhere along the way, getting to know each other turned into being close. The distance was still there; it just mattered a little less.
August · Our hometown
Our story.
Our families.
In August, our story became a shared celebration. Back in our hometown, our families came together for our fixation.
It was a moment to bring the people closest to us into the future we were choosing together. What had grown between the two of us now had our families gathered around it.
A new chapter, with a few more people to share the joy.
A very different kind of yes
Then came forever.
From our first meeting in Liverpool, our story found its way to Santorini, Greece. And there, the question that would change our lives was asked.
A proposal. A yes. A whole new chapter to look forward to.
What began with hot chocolate and cake had become a promise to keep choosing each other, wherever life took us next.
The chapter we can’t wait to begin
A lifetime, together.
From the same school to different cities, from hot chocolate in Liverpool to a yes in Santorini, each chapter has brought us here: ready to begin our life together.
On 4 January 2027, we’ll be married in Vaikom, with the people we love around us. Before that, we’ll begin the celebrations with our engagement on 31 December 2026.
What makes this next chapter so special isn’t just where it happens. It’s who we get to share it with. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.
There’s more where
that came from.
We’ve kept a few chapters up our sleeves. At our wedding reception, look out for QR codes—each one opens a different little corner of our story, from trips together to the celebrations along the way.
Bring your curiosity. A little snooping is positively encouraged.
31 December 2026 · 4 January 2027