FROM PLAYDATES TO THE ALTAR

Theirs is a story of a classic childhood friendship that turned into a journey of a lifetime. Best friends and partners for life, Bhakti Khubchandani and Pratham Nandwani share how they made their way to a picture-perfect wedding.

- By ANKITA MALHOTRA

HOW WE MET

“Pratham was the boy next door who became the love of my life. It wasn't love at first sight; it was a friendship that bloomed. Sparks started to fly between us at university, and we became the best of friends. Our bond strengthened as we shared all the phases of our lives together. We took our time (maybe too much time!) to stop being delulu about what was right in front of us. But 16 years later, when we finally acknowledged it, it felt most natural. He's always been my safest place, and somewhere along the way, my heart quietly chose him.”

THE NEXT STEP

“He had this picture-perfect proposal planned in Venice—a dreamy gondola ride, rose petals showered on us from a bridge, a painted banner with our photo and the words 'Marry Me, Bhakti?' on it... He wanted to have the whole fairy tale—but Venice got flooded, flights were grounded, and we got stuck in Istanbul.