Maya & Will : Celebrating in all the Colorful Hues!

Helping Maya and Will put together their dream wedding outfits was so much fun. If you haven't noticed already, we LOVE color over here at Harleen Kaur so when Maya came in wanting all the colors in her outfit, we were excited to say the least. Designing Will's custom color way for the vest was equally as exciting since a lot of groom's aren't usually open to that much color.

How did you both meet?

We met at a New Year’s Eve party in 2015. We were both college students at the time, and mutual friends introduced us. That evening, our friends urged each of us to talk to the other, as they thought we might get along, and they were right - we hit it off right away and the rest is history!

What made you choose the outfits you did for this event?

Our outdoor June ceremony and reception in Iowa blended Hindu, Jewish, secular, South American, and North American traditions. We were looking for a vibrant, contemporary, ethically made, lightweight, and totally one-of-a-kind look.

I was instantly drawn to the Harleen Kaur yellow floral lehenga, and that was our jumping off point. It was a dream to wear Harleen’s gorgeous, unique, multicultural designs. We felt like our HK outfits perfectly highlighted our tastes as individuals and complemented our vivid color palette.

We also loved the versatility: for the ceremony, we both donned traditional Maharashtrian bridal and groom adornments, including mundavalya (a string of pearls worn on the forehead) and green glass bangles.

For the reception, I changed tops and Will opened up his vest for a more casual party look. It was especially exciting to consult with Harleen and the team to design Will’s custom vest and my fuschia top and dupatta, and then to see everything come together, from conversations in the showroom to digital renderings to, finally, the real thing.

What advice would you give to future couples for their wedding?

Maya: Do your best to pass off all day-of and day-before tasks (even week-before, if possible) to your relatives, friends, planner if you have one - anyone who is willing to help. Planning a wedding is a ton of work, and we were so grateful that for our wedding week, our loved ones took care of the little details and let us just enjoy every moment.

Will: Day-of, it’s very common to be nervous. I think for many couples, including us, it’s not anxiety about the commitment, but about the performance and everything going smoothly. Once you get through the ceremony, everything else is so easy!

What one moment will last with you both forever?

After our officiant, my uncle, pronounced us married and Will smashed the glass, all of the wedding guests came forward and showered us with dried flower petals and rice.

Of course, this was planned, but we were not sure what to expect. It was such a wild and memorable moment to both literally and figuratively be showered with love and good wishes. Honorable mention: when we both nearly fell out of our chairs during the hora!

What was the biggest surprise during your wedding weekend?

A big LOL was the moment that we were introduced for the first time as a married couple to the guests, to kick off the reception. We did not change our last names, and we felt most comfortable with an informal introduction without any gendered language, so we had asked the DJ to announce, "Friends and family, for the first time as a married couple, Maya and Will!"

Our DJ must have lost his notes on the way to the venue, because instead we got a very enthusiastic "ladies and gentlemen, for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Boyd!" It was pretty funny because it was so blatantly the opposite of what we had discussed, and everyone in attendance knew it!