We would laugh freely and share our deepest and most embarrassing secrets from the very first date.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We both love finding ourselves ‘off the grid’ in nature, exploring together! We enjoy skiing, scuba diving, and aimlessly walking (preferably without our phones). We also share an obsession with sushi and ice cream, which makes date night decisions easy. Tara is from the Bay Area, California and works in biotech drug development, and Bryant is from Northern Virginia and works in finance.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met 5 years ago, the old-fashioned way, at a country bar, which is ironic because Bryant doesn’t drink, and it was Tara’s first and only time at a country bar. Upon being introduced through mutual friends, we laughed the entire night by the electric bull, and our friends could immediately tell that we would be in each other’s lives. One week later, we had our first date, and the rest is history. Thanks to our friends Taylor and Neil!
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Our love has always been so fun and effortless. We would laugh freely and share our deepest and most embarrassing secrets from the very first date. We both knew from very early on that we couldn’t imagine doing life without the other!
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
We walk to our neighbourhood park, Alta Plaza, every day. Bryant made up an elaborate story about how he needed to shop for new pants and that Tara should get dressed to walk to the neighbourhood stores. Tara came out with wet hair, sweatpants, and chipped green nail polish. Bryant tried to convince her to dress up for ‘pant shopping’, but Tara didn’t have it. We walked through Alta Plaza, where Bryant had coordinated with Tara’s best friend to take photos of the magical moment. We turned off our phones and walked aimlessly around San Francisco for the rest of the day, which ended with sushi and ice cream. It was the best!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
We wanted to embody an authentic, thoughtful celebration that was true to us. That meant veering from traditional expectations or frivolous fads in favour of personal touches and incorporating Tara’s Persian traditions. We love hosting our friends and family often, so we wanted it to feel as close to how it’d feel if we invited everyone into our home – long tables overflowing with food, wine, flowers, candles, and laughter. We decided on Napa Valley because we wanted a ‘local destination’. The Charter Oak is not a traditional wedding venue but is designed for intimate moments over an abundance of food in the best company. This was the vision we had for our day – one big, beautiful, effortless dinner party with our favourite people. We didn’t look at any other venues.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Food is our love language, so we wanted to treat our guests to the best culinary experience possible. The Charter Oak has the best food, drink, and service we could have imagined!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Our niece and flower girl could not stand the idea of wearing shoes that day, and the photos of her barefoot walking down the aisle ended up being the cutest thing.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
I knew I wanted to wear something unfussy, and that felt like me. Something elegant yet sexy, understated yet with a wow factor. I wanted shoes I would actually wear again, so I also needed something that wouldn’t get destroyed by grass and reckless dancing, and went with a patent leather pointed-toe Jimmy Choo mule. Bryant just wanted a classic tuxedo – he was all about something classic that fit him like a glove. I absolutely love jewellery, so we designed our wedding rings together at Yadav in San Francisco, and Tara wore her mother’s and late grandmother’s vintage jewellery.
CEREMONY + RECEPTION The Charter Oak, @the_charteroak FLORIST Violet & Aster, @violetandaster PHOTOGRAPHER Mari Wedding Co, @mariweddingco OFFICIANT Bride’s Father MAKEUP Bride HAIRE Shila Dorrani, @zahraboutique_salon BRIDAL DRESS Jenny Yoo, @jennyyoonyc SUIT J.Crew, @jcrew EARRINGS David Yurman, @davidyurman ACCESSORIES/VEIL Vintage, Borrowed from Bride’s Mother RINGS Yadav Diamonds & Jewelry, @yadavjewelry SHOES Jimmy Choo, @jimmychoo BRIDAL & GROOM – GETTING READY HQ Alila Napa Valley
