Wedding: Ceremony June 3, 2016; reception June 4
Ceremony & reception: Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis
Honeymoon: Maui, Hawaii
Neha Samira Ghildayal was in Chicago on a business trip when she heard a street performer playing “Take on Me.” What a coincidence, she thought, that he was playing her favorite song. Then she saw a photograph of herself and Akash Kumar on the music stand. At that moment, Akash hopped out of a cab and proposed. The couple’s long courtship had many such memorable moments. The couple first crossed paths when Neha was in a high school play and Akash, who attended a different high school, sat in the audience. They came across one another once again during a high school business competition held at the Hyatt; Akash would sit in the lobby playing chess hoping she would talk to him, but she never did—that time. When it came to planning their wedding, the couple wanted their wedding to reflect the most important moments of their relationship. So along with hosting their celebration at the Hyatt, Neha trimmed her bridesmaid’s dresses with a pearl border to honor Akash’s first gift to her, a pearl necklace, and they designed their wedding canopy to resemble the boutonniere she gave Akash for prom. “It felt incredible to have everyone who supported us over our 12-year relationship in one room,” says Neha.
