The Proposal + Engagement – Menaka & Mayuran

Menaka and Mayuran, (even their names sound so good together), are not only the duo behind The MS Real Estate Team, but are also a real life couple that we encountered. Menaka first caught our attention with her bold style sense when it comes to ethnic wear and when we found out she was engaged, we had to find out about the surprise proposal, and elegant engagement party that they hosted. Read below to find out more.

About Menaka…

I (Menaka) am from Toronto, Canada. If I could describe myself, I would say that I am very spiritual, an avid reader, a dreamer, an animal lover and a health enthusiast. I love being independent, strong and working hard to reach my goals while breaking societal norms. Oh, did I mention, Feminist?

About Mayuran…

Mayuran is also from Toronto, Canada. He is very charismatic, kind and always looking for ways to improve upon himself, personally and professionally. One thing I admire about him is his unwavering work ethic. If he sets his mind on achieving something, nothing will stop him from fulfilling his goals. If I had to choose, my favorite quality about Mayuran is that he strongly supports the idea that women should be viewed as strong and independent individuals capable of taking on leadership roles.

How did this love story start?

We met 5 and a half years ago at school while I was pursuing my Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and he was just wrapping up his Business Marketing program. We met through a mutual friend and became really good friends and ended up falling in love! So Cliche, right? But that’s what really happened!

Lets talk about the proposal!

Mayuran proposed to me on a beautiful, breezy, summer evening by the lake. I had been bugging him to take me out to this one particular restaurant by the lake and when it finally happened, I couldn’t have imagined the wonderful surprise that was waiting for me. That day, I remember wearing a cute yellow romper and looking forward to sipping on some champagne while enjoying the sunset. When we finally arrived, the waiter directed us to our table on the patio overlooking the dock. As we were eating our appetizers, I asked Mayuran if we could take a walk on the dock and he said we would have to wait for a while. A few minutes later, he led me toward the dock and I saw a trail of red rose petals and I knew something was up. After that, it was all a blur. Not only did I have a beautiful ring on my finger but having all of my family and friends waiting in surprise to congratulate us was the icing on the cake. It was a moment in my life that I will cherish forever. (See images below)

Proposal Images by EM Photography: http://www.photoem.net/

Did you have an engagement party? Tell us a little bit about the planning of your engagement party. How long did the planning take? Who did you rely on to help you execute the event to you satisfaction?

I had a fairy-tale outdoor engagement party that I invested a lot of time and energy into planning and thankfully it turned out to be a total success. The planning was intimidating at first but I was lucky enough to have great friends and family who were more than willing to help execute my vision. I had visualized an outdoor engagement party for a long time and it was definitely a dream come true. It took about one month to plan the entire event from choosing vendors, outfits, a DJ, a priest to overall decor. For dinner, we had a live pasta station, a kothu roti station and a hopper station. It was the best decision that I had made because the food was warm and fresh from the start to the end. The outdoor space was beautifully decorated with the help of our friends and family and it looked lovely at night. The best part about having a celebration outdoors is dancing under the stars on a warm summer night. The guests had so much fun and the dancing didn’t stop until late night! (See images below)

Based off the experience of planning your engagement party – what are three things you learned that you would like to share with our readers.

1. Get on Pinterest! I used Pinterest boards to plan my engagement party from detail to detail. It really helped bring ideas together that I could execute for my party. Lots of DIYs are also on there that could potentially be helpful, creative and cost-effective!

2. Make sure to arrange a clean up crew for the morning after to help you tidy up the beautiful mess everyone made at the party. After hours of dancing and partying, the last thing you want to do is wake up early to repair the damage that was done.

3. Last but not least, try not to expect everything to be perfect because the chances of that happening are slim. Get in the mindset of enjoying every moment regardless of whether or not things are going your way. Smile, Relax and Have Fun!

When are you getting married? Tell us about one thing you are really looking forward to during the wedding.

I am getting married early next year and we are planning a destination wedding. Given that planning is still underway, we, at the moment, are unable to finalize any details. One thing I am really looking forward to during my wedding is being around family and friends and making lifelong memories.