For many, a fully-fledged wedding proposal may mean an extravagant trip abroad or an overseas romantic getaway to impress your other half. But look a little deeper into the meaning of intimacy, and you’ll find declarations of true love may be in smaller, adorning gestures.
Practising Junior Doctors, Yash Gupta, and Hari Bains, first met at Leicester University in 2013, where they both began their journey studying medicine. Little did they know, their career journey would soon develop into a romantic one a few years later!
“We both were in the right mind-set at similar times when our paths crossed. Yash was too shy to say anything, but his friend came up to us, and asked if he had told me he liked me yet! It was hilarious! We met up after lectures one day, and just talked for ages. We knew we liked each other, and made it clear that we wanted our families on board… and then the rest was history!”
Soon after, Yash and Hari were falling deeply in love:
“Yash has always felt like home away from home. He’s hard-working, gorgeous, has the best intentions and is so unbelievably modest. I’m a believer in fate, and everything in our relationship timeline has just happened so naturally. That’s how I know he’s the one.”
“Hari has always had a winning smile, bubbly personality and a very big, loving heart. She’s always the first one to offer help and go the extra mile for those who need it. She’s a beautiful woman with a character like no other, I knew from very early on in our relationship I wanted to spend my life with her.”
Fast forward to 2020, and this was the year Yash had decided to propose, and ask for Hari’s hand in marriage.
“I formally asked for permission from Hari’s parents in January, as I knew how much this would mean to her, and we went out to the Rosewood in London to discuss my intentions and plans. After they said yes, I got down to the planning! In March, I had planned to take Hari to Paris for the day, and I was going to propose to her on the River Seine, near the Eiffel tower.”
Unfortunately for Yash and Hari, because the coronavirus pandemic had rapidly escalated, this meant a lockdown would ensue, cancelling Yash’s hard-work and careful planning. However, he was determined not to let the coronavirus put a dampener on marrying the girl of his dreams.
“My proposal was very simple in the end, as we couldn’t do anything or go anywhere. I made her breakfast, bought her some roses and champagne, and got down on one knee! I was relieved when she said yes, and was still surprisingly nervous. It’s an amazing way to start the next chapter of our lives together.”
For Hari, the proposal was ‘beautiful and pure’. “Honestly, this was way more me. I think he’s always thought I wanted an extravagant, memorable proposal, but I think God works in wonderful ways. How he did it was exactly how I wanted it, with him, me and our moment together. With everything that’s happening in the world right now, and in our daily lives, now more than ever, it’s our loved ones that mean the most.”
Working as Junior Doctors in Geriatric Medicine and Acute Medicine, Yash and Hari are fully aware that Covid-19 is affecting people’s lives in so many ways, and have always been constantly focused on putting their vital work, and patients first.
“You learn so much every day, from your seniors, your peers, and most importantly your patients. We don’t think any health professional or key worker ever hypothesised something like this to happen. It’s always been possible, but we don’t think anyone thought it would ever actually happen.
It’s also the entire morale in the hospitals that’s keeping us going. Everyone has grown so close in all the multi-disciplinary teams we work in. We’ve all become one big family, looking out for one another.”
However, even under the tricky circumstances, it’s vital for all couples to think of the positives, and look ahead to their bright futures. With this in mind, Yash & Hari have a final few touching words for brides and grooms to be:
“For all those beautiful brides and grooms that may have had to postpone wedding dates, I’m sure you’ve come to realise that having each other is the only thing that matters! Everything else will fall into place, and times like these teach us this the most!”
…As the saying goes, love will always find a way.