Tiwinkle Khurana and Gurkirat Grewal’s romance didn’t begin as your typical love story. The pair first met in 2012 as undergraduate economics students at UCLA, and their initial impressions of each other were far from affectionate. “We did not like each other at all and thought the other was arrogant,” remembers Tiwinkle, laughing. “We didn’t keep in touch, even though we ran into each other a few times in college.”
A couple of years after graduating in 2017, Gurkirat decided to give their connection another chance and slid into Tiwinkle’s DMs, and soon after they found themselves together at a mutual friend’s party. “I decided to give him a chance,” Tiwinkle shares. “Once we hung out, we just clicked so well! It was so organic. We both knew this was something different.”
In December 2022, the couple mutually decided that they wanted to get married and they quickly began planning a wedding with a September 2023 date in mind. However, Gurkirat waited to save a more formal proposal until their families met in person—just a few months before their wedding day. For the surprise, the groom, who works in finance, told Tiwinkle he won tickets for a yacht ride through an office raffle. “When we got to the dock in Marina del Rey, I thought it was strange that we were the only ones there,” says the bride. “So I got an idea he might be proposing, but I didn’t want to be disappointed if it wasn’t happening. I even asked if he would propose because it was such a romantic setting, but he said, ‘No, it’s too cheesy.’
“There was a photographer there who said he had to take pictures for the company,” Tiwinkle continues. “I went with it and tried posing cutely for the pictures. Then he got down on one knee. I was so excited and happy! I said yes and put the ring on my own finger out of excitement. People on other boats saw, cheered, and congratulated us.”
Since the couple would have a week full of events to reflect their Hindu and Sikh cultures, it was a good thing that they started the planning process early. Tiwinkle explains that her family—particularly her two brothers, Suraj and Varun—was instrumental in organizing the wedding. “I was not prepared for how much care they would put into the wedding week,” she says. “They found and coordinated the different vendors, helped with decor, and handled and coordinated the entire guest list, hotel accommodations for guests, RSVPs, transportation, and food for 350-plus guests throughout the seven-day stay. We had external help, of course, but my family went above and beyond what I wanted, which made it that much more special.”
