“If you’ve ever seen one of the many childhood-friends-turned-lovers movies, we may as well warn you that our story starts off a little like that too.”

We first met in 2008 at Thorncliffe Jamatkhana when we were 11 and 13 years old, and quickly became the best of friends. Our shared love for dance and our frequent volunteering with the IVC brought us closer together, and this friendship grew over the years. Somewhere along the line, between the many dance practices, MSN/Skype conversations, and moving furniture at Jamatkhana wrap-up: that friendship turned into love. On October 15, 2014, Sajjad asked Nameerah out on their first date and she accepted! We attended prom together and soon after, it was time for Nameerah to move away for university. One of our favourite memories during this time was in first year of university during final exams. She hadn't eaten all day due to the exam stress. Out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door, and it was Sajjad standing there holding a big box of food and a huge hug waiting for her!

The Proposal

Fast forward to 2020, when Nameerah was studying in Europe, Sajjad started planning a surprise proposal for her in Manarola, Italy with the help of both their families. Oblivious to his plans, she would drop hints every day trying to get Sajjad to come visit. Meanwhile, he would be shopping with her younger sisters to find the perfect engagement ring! Unfortunately, COVID hit and caused Sajjad’s flights to get cancelled just 3 days before departure, meaning the proposal couldn’t happen. Regardless, they got engaged right here in Toronto and incorporated an Italy theme into their engagement party.

The story doesn’t end here! Sajjad had put months of work into planning the initial proposal and naturally, having that get cancelled was devastating. So…… almost two years later he surprised Nameerah with a trip to Italy, back to where it was originally meant to happen!