Diandra and Durant Harvin IV first met because their fathers were friends. They know the exact date they started talking to each other: Oct. 4, 2007.
Later, Durant’s cousin reached out to say that Durant had been asking about Diandra, so she connected with him through MySpace. He was game to chat, but as it turns out, he had not been asking about Diandra. He had been told by the same cousin that she had been asking about him.
“His cousin was playing Cupid,” Diandra says. “And here we are today.”
The couple officially started dating in 2009 (They went to Sorrento’s for pizza, because they both love it). Her husband is a kind man with a generous heart, Diandra says. Plus, they have fun together. “We can be open and transparent with each other. We don’t take life too seriously. We laugh and enjoy each other.”
She knew he was the one for her when he moved to Florida to finish his graduate degree after she moved to Tampa to take a job. She is a brand marketing manager and he is a sales director and they continue to live in the Sunshine State. Both sets of parents live in Ellicott City; Diandra grew up there and Durant was raised in Reisterstown.
Family, as their cousin-orchestrated setup indicates, plays a big part in their life. In 2018, Durant was set to propose to Diandra at a Father’s Day party with family and friends present. But Diandra’s mother, who was so excited about the impending engagement, told a few people, who told a few more people.
“I’m pretty hard to surprise,” Diandra admits. “People talk, I find stuff out.”
The plan was scrapped and Durant waited until a trip to Europe later that summer, telling his bride on the flight over that it wouldn’t happen then. Yes, she says, this time she was surprised.
Their wedding took place Oct. 4, the day they met, at the Lord Baltimore Hotel, a venue the couple chose for its elegant architecture and also its convenience; they held both the ceremony and reception at the hotel.
A gold “X.IV” topped a four-tiered cake from SugarBakers Cakes and the couple’s hashtag for the day was #foureverharvin. Their guests loved it. “Now when I hang up the phone with friends or family, I have to say ten-four,” Diandra says, laughing.
Her dress was from Winnie’s Bridal Boutique in Atlanta, a shop that allows brides to mix and match the bodices and skirts of dresses to create the custom gowns of their dreams. This is exactly what Diandra did on the ultimate girls’ trip — dress shopping with some of her bridesmaids.
Hers was the last dress that she tried on at the shop, and she only gave it a look because the sales associate asked her to as a favor. Form-fitting with under-stated crystal embellishments that subtly catch light, the dress has a long train that she opted to add.
“It was everything I thought I didn’t want, but I loved it,” she says. During the reception, she changed into a second dress from Sheryl Kelm Designs, and returned to the party to Beyoncé’s “Get Me Bodied.” Her father, who was a drum major in college, surprised guests with a marching band-inspired introduction to their father-daughter dance, and the confetti flew when Diandra and Durant danced to a favorite Chris Brown song.
The party ended with both of them holding microphones, giving shout outs to their friends and family, and dancing on the stage. Joyful, family-filled and beautiful, Diandra says. “It was epic.”
