Sarah + Badr by Cleya Asulon - Together Journal

It was important to us to have a blend of Irish and Moroccan cultures at the wedding.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Sarah is Irish, and Badr is French-Moroccan, and we currently live in San Francisco. Sarah works in management consulting, and Badr works in tech. In our free time, we love travelling (9+ countries in 4 years, which isn’t bad considering we met during Covid and most of our holidays are spent visiting family/friends in our home countries), eating out and trying new restaurants/flavours (we’re both foodies), adventure sports (mostly skiing and scuba-diving) and regular sports (mainly running and basketball).

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met in Ireland during COVID-19, on the first day of lockdown. Our first date was a long walk on a dark and cold evening in South Dublin in late October. Despite the weather, the dark, and the thought of a second imminent lockdown, we spent almost two hours walking the streets of south Dublin (so it’s fair to say first impressions were positive). We continued to date all during lockdown, brightening up each other’s weekends. By the time we went on our first “real” date (i.e. when lockdown restrictions were lifted), we had been dating for over a month.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Badr moved to the US before Sarah joined, and they went a long distance before Sarah joined. It was still during COVID-19, so sustaining a relationship across two different continents with an 8-hour time difference and an international travel ban came with its challenges. Looking back, these challenges actually brought us closer as we were forced to confront the big questions early on and figure out whether we were willing to put in the effort to build the relationship when our lives were worlds apart. Once the travel ban was lifted, we also took some amazing trips, which brought us even closer together as we could share something that was important to us both.  

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

We got engaged in Sonoma, which is a wine region just north of San Francisco. Badr had decided a few months before that he was going to pop the question and, after lots of research, had finally found the perfect ring. It was a beautiful sunny day in May and we rented bikes to tour some vineyards. We decided to stop for a picnic at a vineyard on the side of a hill overlooking the winery. Badr laid out the picnic while Sarah went to get a bottle of bubbles. It had been their anniversary the week before, so Badr asked Sarah to close her eyes as he had a belated anniversary present for her. When Sarah opened her eyes, Badr was down on one knee with the ring. Sarah said yes through her tears, and the rest is history.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

With Sarah being from Ireland and Badr from France and Morocco, it was important to us to have a blend of Irish and Moroccan cultures at the wedding (the venue was a vineyard in Bordeaux, so the French part was already taken care of). We also wanted the vibe to be as relaxed and friendly as possible and encourage our groups of friends from different parts of the world to get to know one another and have a good time (as it might be the only time we get them all in one place!). We also really wanted to have a full weekend of celebrations as many of the guests were not from the area/country and had travelled for the wedding, so we had a pool party on the second day.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Food was probably the element we were most happy to splurge on. We’re both foodies, and it was really important to us both to have great food at the wedding. The caterers were amazing and went back and forth with us to iterate on the menu so that it was a blend of Moroccan and Irish flavours. The venue was another aspect that was super important for us to get right, and we were happy to splurge on it. We live in the US, so we provided Charlotte, our wedding planner, with an extensive list of criteria, and within two weeks, she had found us the perfect venue.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

We were actually quite relaxed once the day came around and laughed a lot throughout! We knew that Charlotte had everything taken care of so that enabled us to be fully present and just enjoy the day.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

Sarah found her dress the way most people find questionable late-night snacks: online and with zero regrets. One Saturday morning, she embarked on a bridal pilgrimage—a 2.5-hour drive – to try on a dress her friend had seen online. She hadn’t intended to make a purchase that day. However, this was in mid-February … which any bride knows is quite late to be looking for a dress for a June wedding. After being told by the panicked bridal shop assistant that there was no hope of getting the dress in time, the designer confirmed she could put a rush order on the dress if Sarah could make an on-the-spot decision. Sarah left the shop that day, having committed to the dress without anyone else ever having seen it.

Badr’s suit was custom made by Tailor’s Keep in San Francisco where we chose everything from the fabric, the fit, and the cut, to the buttons, the lining, and the note embroidered on the inside pocket. The colors matched the theme of the wedding and the tailors were sure to leave enough room to allow for aggressive dance floor action on the night of the wedding.