Ah, love — a sentiment so strong that movies, songs, shows, poems, and stories are written about it. Books like On Love and shows like Modern Love take us on a, quite literal, emotional rollercoaster highlighting every single aspect of love — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Today, however, we’re sharing the good, as, despite the fact that we’re living through a global pandemic, Avneet and Jasmine Singh still managed to celebrate their romance at their social distancing-friendly wedding. This is their story:
How They Met
Jasmine and Avneet’s love story dates back to 2017 and is truly an international love affair. That November, the pair happened to match on the dating app, Hinge {way to go, swiping right!}. But, this budding romance wasn’t as simple as swiping right — Avneet was living in Germany and Jasmine was in Pennsylvania finishing up a fellowship in community psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.
“An intercontinental romance that all started with a swipe on Hinge,” Jasmine shared.
“I moved to Berlin, Germany in 2016. Between my job and family, I would try to come back to the states every other month,” Avneet told Hoboken Girl. “I remember traveling to NYC for a work trip and after countless left swipes, I finally saw this really cute Punjabi girl — I had to swipe right. I was under the impression that my profile was quite clear as it stated that I was residing in Berlin, but I guess Jasmine just didn’t want to believe it. The first time I talked to Jasmine on the phone, I was driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas by myself. I thought it would be a short conversation not amounting to much but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
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The pair stayed on the phone for three hours — the rest was history.
The stars ultimately aligned, because this LDR became officially official in November 2018 after the two made many trips across the Atlantic to visit each other. Two continents, an ocean, and a six-hour time difference couldn’t stop this love story for the ages — just proof that love does, in fact, win.
“I felt an instant connection and we spent most of the subsequent winter months engaging in daily phone calls, despite a six-hour time zone difference,” Jasmine said. The two finally met face-to-face in Amsterdam on a trip Jasmine had gone on with a friend.
“By the time we met in Amsterdam face to face, I felt like I already knew Avneet. It was a huge relief to not spend that time participating in the typical ‘first date’ questions, but rather exploring a new city together, with our close friends. The following year was filled with countless trips across Europe, California, NYC, and Philly. We traveled to new cities as well as to each other’s hometowns, endured challenges, and pushed one another out of our comfort zones,” she said.
The Proposal
In May of 2019, that’s when the couple took their relationship to the next level — ladies, he put a ring on it.
“It took me a year to realize that she is actually… perfect,” Avneet shared about his now-wife {we’re not crying, you are}. All that was now left was for him to pop the question.
“I moved back to the states on May 30th, picked her up from the airport on the 31st in the morning, and proposed to her that evening!”
And to make it even more Hudson County official, fast forward to August of 2019 and this couple settled in Jersey City after Avneet started a job in Hoboken.
Their Wedding Plans
Pre-pandemic, Avneet and Jasmine were planning to have a “Punjabi Sikh wedding in Southern California for April 25th,” the couple shared.
But, as we can all imagine, their intended wedding date was right at the height of coronavirus concerns in the New Jersey area, so those plans were put on hold…or so it seemed.
“[It was] a day we had spent almost a year planning,” they shared. “We took countless trips to California to get each detail of our Punjabi Sikh wedding just right. Even the experience of Jasmine traveling to India last fall to customize multiple bridal outfits seems to have happened in a different lifetime.”
COVID-19, however, couldn’t stop this couple from getting hitched. Seriously, they’ve survived an LDR, intercontinental love, a six-hour time difference, and tested their luck on a dating app — a few social distancing orders couldn’t stop this dynamic duo at all.
“Our story has always been unique, so it is only fitting the next chapter of our lives starts off with a twist as well,” they shared.
Read More: A Cheese-Filled Hoboken Engagement at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
A Socially Distant Wedding
{Photo credit: @jenmarvelphoto}
When April 25th finally did come around, Avneet and Jasmine still had their wedding, just on a smaller, more intimate scale.
{Photo credit: @jenmarvelphoto}
{Photo credit: @jenmarvelphoto}
“We got married on a path by the waterfront at Maxwell Place Park,” they told Hoboken Girl. “Our 300+ guest list shrunk down to just three. There was no procession led by Avneet on a horse. A typical multi-day affair came down to just 15 minutes. But just like that, in the midst of a pandemic, we managed to have a beautiful socially distant wedding ceremony minutes away from our home. We were mindful in abiding to regulations for the ceremony and its location, choosing a path out of the way of other pedestrians.”
As for local vendors, instead of a major list of Hudson County favorites, the pair just used two: their cake came from Hudson Cakery and their photos were taken by local photographer, Jen Marvel Photo.
As for the ceremony, well, that was a solution solved by Zoom.
“There were over 250 people of all ages across five continents/time zones who witnessed our commitment to each other virtually,” they said. “We feel so fortunate to have kept our original date, making it official despite the uncertainty of our times. We hope this message of love is an inspiration to other couples in similar situations. We really ‘saved the date’ and are so happy we did!”
{Photo credit: @jenmarvelphoto}
Congratulations, Jasmine and Avneet {PS: Check out their very cute ceremony on YouTube here}!
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