Real Hazen Bride: Mary-Ashley Kurian November 09 , 2022 , 0 comments

Mary-Ashley Seabrook and Arjun Durian wed on Friday, October 15, 2021
at Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee

In three words, describe your wedding style?

Elegant, vibrant, and autumnal

What provided the most inspiration for your wedding?

Aesthetically, the jewel tones of fall that we get to play up against the deep blues and champagne of our table linens at the reception and the metallic look of the dew-drop-colored bridesmaid dresses were a huge inspiration for the fall wedding I have always wanted! More than anything, the inspiration was the heart of the day, the whole purpose of it all – our marriage! The planning and the event are the cherry on top of the inspiration God gave us in August 2020 when Arjun and I first went on a walk together. The Lord’s inspiration propelled the thought that we might have more of a connection than only being godparents together, and step-by-step He has guided our path to clarity and confidence of our calling to spend our lives together. At the end of the day, that’s enough inspiration for a lifetime.

What aspect of wedding planning was most exciting to you?

Arjun is originally from India and his family is spread out over many countries (parents in India, sister’s family in Sweden, cousins in Canada/Australia/England) and because I have lived in several states where wedding guests would be traveling from (Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri) it was important and exciting to us to plan an experience that honored our guests’ role in our lives and the effort and time it took to travel to celebrate with us. From including some “barbeque-tinis” and a peanut butter & chocolate dessert at the rehearsal dinner to represent the Memphis BBQ scene and Elvis, to placing a priority on maximizing face-time with people at the reception, we really wanted the occasion of our marriage to be conjoined with special, intentional reunions with people from all seasons of our life. It was thrilling to fill in the “holes” of people we had heard about in each other’s lives and to be thoughtful in anticipating spending time with those people as we planned. [And just in case you’re wondering, Arjun and I met because we’re godparents to the same little girl. Our paths crossed because of her parents and the rest is history!] It was also a joy to do all of the prep together. Arjun is not the “hand it over to the bride and I will just show up” kind of guy. As he said, “it’s our day and I want to plan it together,” which meant that every part of planning from picking the food for the rehearsal dinner and reception, to selecting the scripture for the ceremony, and our cake flavors was more meaningful because both of us were invested in the process and anticipating how it would all come together on the wedding day.

What made you decide on Hazen for your big day?

It was barely a decision at all when you call the Hazen founder a dear friend! Taylor and I became connected through my mom who met Taylor at a trunk show at Gild the Lilly in Memphis in 2011. My mom called and said she had given my number to a jewelry designer who was going to be a freshman at SMU (where I attended) the next year. While I wanted to tell my mom to stop giving my number so freely to people (!!), I am so glad she passed it along to Taylor. We became friends in college and that friendship has continued to the present. I would be so bold as to put myself up as one of her greatest and consistent “friend-customers.” I was a faithful attender of her house shows in college and whenever I am in Dallas, I love to pop in the Hazen store. There was only one place to go as I thought about bridesmaid earrings, my earrings, and gifts for my flower girls and future mother-in-law. It is SO special to support a friend’s business and simultaneously represent our friendship as Hazen jewels pop on many pairs of ears walking down the aisle!