#KoskiiCustomerStories
At the outset, let us tell you that not even Bollywood writers couldn’t have scripted a love story like this. When Ann Jose and Dovin Mathew walked into our office, we loved how cute they looked as a couple. Then we heard their story and our jaws hit the floor. Theirs is not an easy ‘boy meets girl, and they lived happily ever after’ romantic tale. The phrase ‘love conquers all’ comes to mind. So read as their story winds around a meet-cute, takes a sharp turn when a few unexpected obstacles come their way, comes to a dead-end at a forced separation, and reaches the destination at the church altar.
We give you, Mr. and Mrs. Mathew.
Tell us a little about yourself
Ann: I’m from Kerala, and I lived and studied there for most of my life. I came to Bangalore for my Post Graduation MBA studies. Eventually, my family moved to Bangalore, and we settled here about seven years ago. I’m an HR professional.
Dovin: I’m also a Malayalee, born and raised in Kuwait. My family are all in Kuwait. I did my mechanical engineering before moving to Bangalore six years ago. I worked as an Operations Lead till 2021. Now, I’m heading back to Kuwait to help my parents. Unfortunately, I’m leaving Ann behind. We should be reunited in a maximum of three months, I hope!
That’s sad! You just got married.
We thought we’d finally be together after getting married, but circumstances won’t allow it. You know how it is. But we’re used to it. There’s been a few recurring themes in our relationship—long distance, separation, and testing.
Tell us more
You’ll hear more about it in our story. Let’s start at the beginning.
Ann: So, in 2016, some mutual friends threw a weekend-long party. Both of us were invited. When Dovin walked into my friend’s house, he had an air of confidence and intimidation. He didn’t even smile. I was immediately drawn to him and simultaneously irritated by him. Who did he think he is, you know? So, I was determined to be just as aloof and irritating. And that got to him 😀
Dovin: I walked in, and I was nervous. Of all the people I met, this pretty girl was giving me major attitude. Anyway, our first meeting didn’t go so well. We didn’t speak to each other again that weekend. A few weeks later, we met again at this mutual friend’s birthday party.
Ann: Neither of us were looking for love. But from our first meeting, there were sparks flying between us, mostly of the negative kind. We met in June. In October, I got a WhatsApp message, out of the blue, saying ‘Hi’. I was shocked! It took him five months to get my number from someone and message me. He said he was coming to Bangalore and could we meet. Of course, I said yes. So, we spent a lot of time together, initially as friends.
Dovin: In the course of us going out, I realized that my feelings towards her had changed. So, the problem was I had to keep going to Kuwait to renew my visa every six months. But I found a really good person in Ann. I could talk and relate to her, and I didn’t want to leave her. So, I figured, why not give it a shot and see what happens. So, I proposed marriage and told her she had only one week to let me know.
Ann: He was persistent! He would ask me every day for an answer. We started going out in October, and he asked me in November. Now, I was not looking for a relationship at all. But, I saw in him a very caring person who looks after his friends and family. I love that side of him. Also, he was from Kerala, and he was a Christian. In fact, our families were from the same area, and everything seemed to be perfect. With that, Dovin returned to Kuwait, and I didn’t know when I would see him again.
Wow! What happened then?
Dovin: So, I went back to Kuwait and told my family that I had a good job opportunity and needed to come back to Bangalore. Usually, I’d stay in Kuwait for a year before returning to India. My parents didn’t know about us, but they knew something was up. I somehow got my tickets done and returned to Bangalore in two weeks.
Ann: And here’s where things get interesting. My family is traditional orthodox Christians. Now, Dovin and I were together till around January, this is where the sudden turn in events took place. My parents weren’t keen about this new change in my life at that point. On January 10th, Dovin’s birthday, we said goodbye, and soon after I was grounded for a year & a half.
Dowin: I didn’t have any contact with her for one and a half years after that. I didn’t know whether she was alive or not, whether she had gotten married to someone else. Nothing. Before she left, I asked her to give me an answer. She said she would let me know and asked for a bit of time. That’s the last I heard from her for a long time.
Oh no! What went wrong?
Ann: My family somehow found out I was seeing someone and they weren’t too happy about it at first, a natural reaction of every Indian family. They thought that I would forget about it and carry on because we had only been talking to each other for a very short period of time. So, I did my first and second-year MBA through distance learning, and my parents let me return to Bangalore to do my second-year exams. That’s when I finally got to see Dovin again, and it felt like all the memories we had made in that short amount of time came rushing back to the both of us.
Dovin: I didn’t know what to do. My friends were saying it’s been only two weeks. Move on. But I realized this wasn’t just a two-week relationship. We connected at a deep level, and that’s not something you walk away from easily. After a year and five months, I wondered whether Ann had indeed forgotten about me. She called me just then. She was coming back to Bangalore! We met and revived our relationship and began to date regularly. Ann had started working by this time, and somehow, her parents got to know about us again.
We don’t even want to ask what happened next 👀
Dovin: She had to quit her job and was told to come back to Kerala again. And I didn’t hear from her for six months after this. We were separated like this a few more times. After the first time, we managed to keep in touch somehow. Even when her family migrated to Bangalore, and she was only a few kilometers away rather than 600km away, we were still separated. Random people have tried to divide us. That’s when Ann began to try to persuade her parents to meet me. I first met her mom, who wasn’t expecting someone like me. She was expecting someone unconventional with tattoos and piercings. Then I met her dad and brothers. That first meeting didn’t go so well. That’s when I decided to get my family involved as well. I asked my parents to travel from Kuwait to Bangalore, and we formally met her family. Even after meeting both my family and me, Ann’s parents were still a bit skeptical. After two years, I was still in the same position as before. Her family refused to set a date for the wedding without me having something of a promising future in my hand, as any other protective family would expect. In fact, at the end of all this her father told me to forget about her. I told him that I couldn’t do that. The one thing I will always do is to look for and after Ann all my life.
And then suddenly…
What happened? The suspense is killing us.
Dovin: After waiting for over six long years, her dad called me out of the blue at 7:00 am on a glorious day in March and fixed the date for our wedding over a 5-minute call. We were finally going to get married in one month! He was impressed that we had stayed together for years despite being separated multiple times. Today, I’m considered one of her dad’s favorite in fact her family’s favorite, which is a dream come true. Whatever their initial perceptions about me and mine about them, that had changed after meeting and spending time together. There were moments when we were ready to give up. But God kept encouraging us in some way or the other to keep going.
Ann: Family is very important to me, and I was unwilling to get married without my parents’ approval. Though it was hard, I’m glad we waited for this moment. Throughout our relationship, I’ve always maintained that if it’s meant to be, he will wait for me, and everything will work out perfectly. That’s precisely what happened. In fact while everything was going just how we imagined it to be, Dovin’s granddad’s health declined during the wedding preparations. We were very concerned to the point where we even reconsidered going forward with the wedding preps at that point. But soon after, everything started to fall back in place, we were lucky enough to get his blessings as we embarked this new journey in life.
Tell us about the wedding
Dovin: Our courtship was long and arduous. It often seemed like it was us against the world. But the wedding was the very opposite. Everything seemed to just fall in place effortlessly. We didn’t want to have an engagement or pre-wedding ceremony. So, it was just the wedding. I choose my suit in one day. The first caterer we called worked out. Same with the venue, the photographer… the planning went off smoothly.
That’s fantastic! Now, let’s talk about THE Dress. What made you say ‘yes’ to a Koskii?
Ann: We didn’t have much time to get a custom-stitched outfit. The wedding was fixed within a month. Also, traditional Christian brides wear a saree or a gown. I didn’t want to wear that, and neither of our parents are traditional in this regard. I love Bollywood and wanted something different that made me look like a Bollywood star. Also, I was a big fan of watching wedding dress shopping on television. I knew the dress had to speak to you.
We found a dress that looked nice on me in another store, and my mom, my sister, my best friend, and even Dovin liked it, but it wasn’t speaking to me. So, I asked them to keep it for me while I went to one more store. We walked down the road and came across Koskii. Everything looked so grand from the outside. I just had to come inside. We went to the first floor of the Koskii store, where all the bridal wear is located, and as I walked up, I could see a little bit of this dress peeking out. I could see a little bling and the feathers. It was almost as if the feathers were beckoning me to come and try on the dress. I rushed to it, and when I saw all of it, I fell in love. I wanted to try it on immediately! And I did. Now, Dovin and my mom were coming into Koskii slowly. So, by the time they came up, I had put the dress on. My eyes filled up because I was so in love with the glittering lehenga. I have often thought about the dress I would wear, and even if I had custom-designed it, I don’t think I would have been able to create a dress like this. I love it.
Dovin: When I first saw her in the dress, I didn’t like it so much. All of us that had accompanied Ann for this dress shopping thought the other dress looked better. But, when I saw her eyes fill up and a single tear fall down her cheek, I wanted her to wear this dress. Because I knew the dress was speaking to her. It was also a practical buy because she could also wear this for other occasions.
Ann: In Christian marriages, we need a veil. And because this dress was a lehenga, it didn’t come with it. So, the staff quickly arranged a veil so I could see the full effect. The staff here were very helpful. I returned to the store four times, and each time I tried on the dress, I had lost a little more weight. So, they had to keep altering the dress. And they did it so patiently. Also, each time I tried on the dress, a little bling or a feather or two would fall off. They keep fixing too. They made me feel very welcome every time I walked into the store.
Your advice for people looking to get married?
Dovin: my advice to people in love is that whatever happens, just be there for the other person. If they’re angry or sad, or hurt, just be there for them. And whatever happens, it happens for your good. You have to believe that.
Ann: my advice is that you can’t force things to happen. Be patient. If it’s meant to be for you, God or the universe, whatever you believe in, will work something out for you. And it will happen at the right time for you.
Dovin: Many people rush into things. I tried to do it also. I was convinced her dad would never say ‘yes’ to our marriage, and I was trying to get her to marry me anyway. She refused because she really believes in family. I love that about her. If we hadn’t waited as we did, we wouldn’t know the complete happiness and joy we know today.
We love a good story, and Ann and Dovin’s love saga reminds us that love is worth it. Waiting, hoping, praying, expecting, fighting for it, loving—that’s what it is all about. Here’s hoping that so many of you who are in a relationship endure as they did & cherish a love like theirs!
Ann and Dovin, thank you for sharing your story with us. We wish you the very best as you continue your lives together. May your future be drama-free and full of beautiful and joyful moments.