WEDDING BELLS I Shelvin and Arishma - From FB friends to lovers

A NAME simply spotted on an FNU assignment led to a Facebook friend request, and a friendship that slowly blossomed into love.

Thirteen years later, after navigating distance and shared dreams, Shelvin Chand and Arishma Ashwini Kumar stood side by side as husband and wife.

For Shelvin and Arishma, their wedding was never the beginning of their love story. It was the next chapter of one they had written together since they first met in person in July 2013.

Shelvin, 33, a welder from Lautoka who now resides in Melbourne, Australia, and Arishma, 33, a trainer and assessor from Navua who also lives in Melbourne, exchanged their wedding vows on July 11, 2026 – a date that had already carried special meaning in their relationship.

Their wedding celebrations stretched across four days, from July 9 to 12, bringing together faith, family, tradition and friends from Fiji and around the world.

But behind the celebrations was a story built not on a single dramatic moment, but on the small acts of care and commitment that accumulated over 13 years.

It started with a name and a friend request

Their story technically began in 2012, when both were studying at FNU. Arishma was in her first year and Shelvin was in his final year.

Shelvin first became curious about Arishma after seeing her name on assignments his cousin Ashneel brought home for referencing.

“I remember wondering who this Arishma was,” Shelvin recalled.

He eventually noticed her around Derrick Campus and found her on Facebook. He sent her a friend request and was pleased when she accepted.

Their story began with a simple “Hi.”

For months, they communicated through Facebook before eventually moving to phone calls. They did not even exchange phone numbers at first.

Shelvin said he quickly noticed that Arishma was straightforward, humble, funny and easy to talk to.

“When we finally met in person, I was nervous but also excited,” he said.

Arishma had a similar feeling.

By the time they met face-to-face, they had already spent months talking online, so she felt as though she knew him.

“I remember feeling a little nervous and shy when we finally met but there was something very comfortable and natural about being around him,” she said.

Their first meeting was not a grand romantic occasion. In July 2013, near FNU’s Derrick Campus in Samabula, they finally met in person and walked home together.

Shelvin was living in Cunningham while Arishma was living at Centrepoint.

There was no elaborate date or romantic setup, just two friends finally meeting after months of conversations behind a screen.

From friendship to love

Neither expected that the friendship would eventually lead to marriage.

Arishma had previously experienced a major heartbreak and had prayed that the next person who entered her life would be someone who genuinely loved her, accepted her and would walk through life with her.

When Shelvin arrived, she did not immediately recognise him as the answer to that prayer.

“There wasn’t a dramatic ‘love at first sight’ moment,” she said.

Instead, the relationship grew naturally.

They spent time together, continued talking and allowed their friendship to develop without pressure or expectations.

Some of their earliest memories remain among their most meaningful.

One came during Arishma’s final exams at FNU. She and her friends were spending long hours studying at the Derrick Campus library and surviving on mince loaf from the French Bakery across the road.

Shelvin knew she was not eating properly.

One day, he made her a chicken sandwich and brought it to her.

“It sounds like such a small thing, but I remember eating that sandwich and feeling so genuinely cared for,” Arishma said.

She still calls it the best chicken sandwich she has ever eaten, and 13 years later, she jokes that Shelvin has never managed to recreate it.

For Arishma, that sandwich represented something bigger than food.

It was one of the early signs of the care and thoughtfulness that she would come to value most about him.

A relationship built on

the little things

In December 2013, another memorable moment came at Shelvin’s FNU graduation.

Arishma attended the ceremony, only to discover that Shelvin’s cousin Ashneel had decided to reveal their relationship to his parents.

Suddenly, she was meeting Shelvin’s parents, siblings, brother-in-law and baby niece.

The couple’s relationship, once kept quietly between them, was no longer quite so private.

Their relationship continued to grow through simple experiences and sacrifices.

Arishma remembers Shelvin as caring, generous, selfless and deeply family oriented.

His generosity, she said, is not only financial, he gives his time and goes out of his way to help people – whether they are family, friends or complete strangers.

“He is also a very simple and humble person,” she said.

The couple enjoys fishing, camping, staying home, spending time with family and helping others.

For Arishma, one of Shelvin’s greatest qualities is the freedom he gives her to be herself.

She jokes that her life motto is that she wants to “live like a butterfly.”

Shelvin, she said, allows her to spread her wings, travel, pursue her dreams and remain independent while knowing that he trusts and supports her.

“He is still my best friend, my safe place and the person I want to do life with,” she said.

Shelvin sees the same strength in Arishma.

He describes her as caring, loving and supportive, with a genuine desire to help others.

He also admires her resilience.

“No matter what life throws at her, she finds a way to get back up, keep going and work towards the next goal,” he said.

Growing together across two countries

The couple spent 13 years together before marriage, using that time to finish their studies, establish careers, support their families and build independent lives.

One of their biggest challenges came in May 2018, when Arishma moved to Melbourne for further studies.

For about a year, they maintained a long-distance relationship across two countries and different time zones.

In May 2019, Shelvin joined her in Melbourne to continue his own further studies.

The distance and changes tested their relationship, but they also helped them grow.

They learned to communicate, make sacrifices, forgive and support each other.

Once together in Melbourne, they began building their life from the ground up.

They worked, studied, shared responsibilities, saved money and celebrated small achievements.

They did not have everything figured out.

Instead, they focused on one goal at a time.

By the time Shelvin proposed in 2024, marriage did not feel like the beginning of their commitment.

It felt like the next step in a life they had already spent years building.

Two proposals, 11 years apart

The couple jokes that their relationship has had two proposals.

The first came in August 2013.

While returning from the Hibiscus Festival, they were crossing the road near Centrepoint when the traffic lights turned red.

Shelvin got down on one knee and asked Arishma to be his girlfriend.

There were no rings and no elaborate speech – and there was also no time for one, because the traffic lights would soon turn green.

Arishma said yes.

Eleven years later, Shelvin got down on one knee again.

This time, the planning was more elaborate.

On July 11, 2024, he proposed at Williamstown Beach in Melbourne with the help of Arishma’s Matron of Honour, Vanessa.

There was a ring, a beach setting and a speech.

And importantly no traffic light waiting to change.

The date was significant.

July 11 had already become a meaningful date in their relationship, and two years later, on July 11, 2026, they exchanged their wedding vows.

Four days, two towns and one celebration

Their wedding celebrations began on July 9 with a pre-wedding prayer and thanksgiving night at Arishma’s family home in Navua.

For Arishma, it was one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding.

Her Christian faith has been a foundation of her life, and before entering marriage, she wanted to pause and honour God for His faithfulness.

The evening was a time of prayer, worship and thanksgiving while also looking ahead to the marriage, their families, their future home and the life they would build together.

Having both her parents there was especially meaningful to Arishma, particularly because her father’s health has not always been good.

On July 10, the celebrations took different forms in the two families.

Arishma’s family hosted her Mehendi Night in Navua, filled with mehendi, music, food, traditional elements, laughter and dancing.

In Lautoka, Shelvin’s family held his Haldi ceremony.

It was a special contrast: the couple spent the night in separate towns surrounded by their respective families before coming together the following day.

The day they became husband and wife

On July 11, 2026, after 13 years together, Shelvin and Arishma finally became husband and wife.

The ceremony was held at Arishma’s family home in Navua.

For Arishma, walking out of the home where she had grown up and towards Shelvin was deeply emotional.

Her father walked her down the aisle and placed her hand into Shelvin’s.

Having her mother there was equally significant. Arishma described her mother as a woman whose love, strength and sacrifices had carried her through life and helped make the wedding possible.

For Shelvin and his family, the day marked another milestone.

As the youngest son, seeing him become a husband was significant for his parents after watching the relationship grow over so many years.

The couple said their wedding was not only about two people becoming husband and wife, but also about two families coming together and honouring the parents who had helped shape them.

A village effort

The following day, July 12, Shelvin’s family hosted the wedding reception at the Girmit Centre in Lautoka.

By then, the couple had already experienced several days of celebrations, but the reception brought another burst of energy.

One of their favourite memories was seeing parents, siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends sharing the dance floor.

Loved ones had travelled from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, the United States, Canada and different parts of Fiji to be there.

For the couple, their presence meant more than any gift.

The wedding itself had been almost two years in the making.

Shelvin and Arishma were heavily involved in planning it, collecting and purchasing items in Melbourne and transporting or freighting them to Fiji.

Once they arrived in Fiji, the preparation intensified.

But the wedding could never have come together through their efforts alone.

Families, friends, neighbours and members of their wider community stepped in to cook, carry, decorate, clean, drive, organise and run errands.

What began as a carefully planned celebration became a family effort.

“It wasn’t a perfect wedding, but it was intentional, meaningful and completely ours and that made it perfect for us,” the couple said.

Two hearts, one mission

For Shelvin and Arishma, marriage is not a fairytale ending.

It is the beginning of another chapter.

They want the home they build, the family they create and the way they treat and serve others to leave something positive behind for future generations.

For now, they are content to enjoy being husband and wife.

They hope to continue working hard, building a secure future, supporting their families, travelling when they can and appreciating the simple things that have always mattered to them.