About the Couple
Kelly and Piyush married on July 20, 2002 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Kelli is employed by DC Public Schools and is teaching Kindergarten and first grade English as a Second Language (ESL) at Cleveland Elementary. PJ is in the Goel family construction business.

How We Met
"We met by chance, thanks to a mutual friend, in the freezer food section at a grocery store. We instantly developed an amazing friendship. We would both go back and forth- one of us liking the other more, during the first two years until we were both in love. By the time we realized we were in love Kelli had received a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to study and live abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was a very tough time due to our long distance relationship. We are now experts on flying as air couriers to South America and are well versed on all aspects of internet telecommunication.

"We knew we were meant for each other when we survived the full re-construction of our townhouse while we lived in it, and surviving a year apart. We endured miserable living conditions together and survived. Through it all - we are thrilled to be married to each other."

The Proposition: 2nd December, 2001 
PJ had the ring for about a month and had only told few people of his plans. He decided to propose to Kelli minutes before her birthday. PJ had an entire spiel of what he was going to say, but was so nervous that he only had the time to utter "Will you marry me?" 30 seconds later, in shock, seeing the ring in the box, Kelli said "Yes".

Kelli wearing a gold-color lehenga for her hindu wedding	PJ in ethnic attire leading the baraat

Our Wedding
"We decided to have a short engagement period (seven and a half months) and to get married on July 20, 2002. Our hardest choice was to decide how to get married, and to convince both families that the wedding would respect both religions. Kelli is Christian and P.J. is Hindu. The weddings of both religions are quite different but in many facets are the same, the similarities being they both involve marriage, family and friends. 

We decided to have the event in Chambersburg, Pa., Kelli's hometown. With the groundwork laid out the harder work began- the decision on whether to have one wedding, two weddings, or a combined wedding. An event over one or two days or on different weekends and finally whether or not to just elope (just kidding, but we did feel that way sometimes). This was our hardest decision as it required a lot of patience and gentle persistence to tell our families that an interfaith marriage can be a plus and not a negative. So we finally decided to perform the Hindu ceremony and luncheon in the morning and the Christian wedding and reception in the evening, all on the same day.