Like many other wedding businesses, Maheswara started from the owner's very own wedding. "My office work used to involve handling corporate events, and all that experience enabled me to plan my own wedding in 2006. After I got married, I started assisting friends who asked for my help in planning their wedding. In 2007, I took maternity leave to give birth to my first-born, Maheswara, and then decided to pursue this business professionally," said Maya, who named her business after her first son.
Although weddings have become more and more modern lately, Maya still believes in the beauty of traditional Indonesian weddings. "Traditional Indonesian weddings are graceful, unique, sacred, and rich in culture. I want to be able to preserve these heritages amidst a modern era that whisks away culture for the sake of practicality," Maya said. However, it doesn't mean that Maheswara doesn't handle international weddings. "For both traditional and international weddings, our service and standards remain high," added Maya.
Even though the business has been established for quite a few years, Maheswara still maintains a "one client a week" principle to ensure undivided focus. As the owner, Maya also personally handles every event and meeting, making the whole experience very personal. "I always take time to understand the clients and their families and maintain good relationship with them, even after the event has ended. I think that's what I love most about the profession. Plenty of them even asked us to also help with their baby showers and family birthdays. The point is, every event is an inspiration and a personal experience, not merely a job," Maya said.
Speaking of challenges in the profession, Maya talked about trust issues. "Indonesian couples involve a lot of families and relatives assisting in their wedding planning; earning their trust is a challenging process. Our role is to make the wedding planning easier and as planners and organizers, it's our job to facilitate our clients' needs as well as help them to make decisions based on their characters. This is why it's very important for clients and their families to trust that we do our part and also communicate openly about everything. Collaboration and openness are the two essential things for Maheswara," said Maya.
When it comes to trends, Maya has a rather interesting take. "It's important to be up to date, but trends are not everything. A wedding that's too on-trend can look too similar with so many other weddings," Maya said. In the end, though, what matters the most to Maheswara is a sense of collectiveness in the wedding. "Good collaboration from the couple and family, as well as with other vendors. That is what's important to the success of a wedding," explained Maya.
