This entry was posted
on Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 2:19:15 pm and is filed under Love without Borders.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Love Without Borders: Garry and Pranay
Love without Borders - Sep 13, 2021
Delhi-based Garry (Gaurav Arora) and Polish-born Pranay (Przemek Pawlicki) found their soulmate sitting halfway across the world. Building a life of love and acceptance, today they live in Amsterdam and share their heartfelt journey and story of their wedding with us.
How They Met
Pranay shares, “Our 5-year long journey began in New Delhi when we crossed paths on the Dating App Grindr. I was visiting the country from Warsaw, Poland, where I live, and was immediately fascinated with Garry when I came across his profile, and I knew I had to meet him”.
First Date Story
Garry shares, “For the first date we met at Socials in Hauz Khas Village. We instantly connected and had a wonderful evening getting to know one another. However, knowing that he was just visiting and would soon return to his country, I was skeptical of falling for him. We eventually decided to not let his departure bring us down and went on to spend an incredible 10 days together. When the time came for him to leave, he did so with the promise of inviting me to Poland for Christmas with his family, and from thereon, our bond only grew stronger”.
Meeting Friends and Family
Pranay shares, “When Garry arrived in Poland for Christmas, I was ecstatic to introduce him to my family, who were thrilled to meet him. Meeting Garry’s family was love at first sight all over again, as we all instantly bonded. We connected the most with each other’s mothers, which felt really special. We also became close to each other’s friends and we feel blessed to have gotten so much love and acceptance from everyone.
We moved in together and stayed in Poland for 4 and a half years before moving to Amsterdam.”
The Proposal
Garry shares, “Pranay proposed to me during Valentine’s week making it all the more special! It was on the way back to Warsaw from his hometown that he popped the question to me on the train. Needless to say, I said yes!”
The Wedding
Pranay shares, “Our wedding was small, intimate, and absolutely perfect. We drove to Denmark (Aabenraa) with our Polish friend (Ania), who was to be our witness. We were also accompanied by some friends from Poland who were making a documentary about us, as well as two more friends from Denmark who wrote an article about us for the Politiken newspaper. Although we had bought formal suits for the occasion, we changed our minds and ended up wearing sherwanis that we received just 3 days before the wedding. We had hosted traditional Mehndi and Haldi festivities with our friends earlier which had been an incredible experience as well. We both got henna put on our hands at the ceremony which was serene and auspicious, and it was the most special experience of our lives”.
Special Moments
Garry shares, “There was an emotional moment during the wedding ceremony when we both cried. We felt the entirety of everything we had been through in all the years we had been together. In Poland, it was impossible to think about same-sex marriage. We had amazing friends & families who donated for this day, and we are so thankful for all the wishes and love we received that made the wedding a reality. Feeling all of that all at once, we could not hold back our tears.”
LGBTQ+ Involvement
Pranay shares, “Yes we feel intensely for the cause and have always tried to contribute in some way. Before leaving Poland, we had done one LGBTQ+ campaign for Rainbow4.love. We have also tried to work with some Indian LGBTQ+ organizations and hope to do so in future as well.”
Advice for other LGBTQ+ Couples
Garry shares, “Just be yourself. Coming out isn’t easy, and you should of course take your time, but do not wait your whole life hiding away parts of yourself. Love yourself and take pride in being who you are. Society will always try to pull you down, but you need to step up and fight for what you want.”
The Wedding Makers
Location: Aabenraa, Denmark
Outfits: Kings Tailor-made
Mehndi: Henna by Reena
Photography: Katrine Noer
