Photo: Samuel Lippke1/41Walking into our rehearsal dinner with my soon-to-be hubby. I’m wearing Monique Lhuillier and carrying a bundle of baby’s breath that I had originally meant to put in my bungalow before dinner! It made for a cute impromptu photo op, though!
Photo: Samuel Lippke2/41My super-chic loves and unofficial bridesmen, Brian Grimotes, Martin Tordby, and Esteban Martinez.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina6/41Our wedding rings sitting on top of our ceremony program with a sketch of a traditional Persian sofreh, with labels of all its symbolic references. João’s wedding band is from Tiffany & Co., and my wedding band was custom-made by our friend Soraya Silchenstedt; both rings are in rose gold.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina7/41A gift from my parents—a diamond necklace—resting on my custom Chanel haute couture shoes and placed beside my bridal bouquet, by my absolute favorite florist Kiana “Tulipina” Underwood. In Persian culture, parents and family of the bride usually gift her precious stones and jewelry on her wedding day.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina8/41I designed this pajama set for the bridal party. And, my man of honor, David Mohammadi, slipped back into his black silk pajama shirt paired with his tuxedo trousers at the reception!”
Photo: Elizabeth Messina9/41Groom and groomsmen’s boutonnieres by Kiana, inspired by “something blue.”
Photo: Elizabeth Messina10/41Fresh from the hair and makeup chair with Ashlee Rose Clay and Liz Castellanos, and off to get changed.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina11/41My stunning matron of honor and brother’s wife, Janet Bakhtiari, in a gown of my own design with Kiana’s dyed baby’s breath stole.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina13/41This is such a special moment and photo with my man of honor. We have known each other for 23 years and counting, and have always had each other’s backs. There are really no words to describe how much I love and cherish our friendship; if I had a twin brother, it would be him!
Photo: Elizabeth Messina14/41The calm before the storm—I was obsessed with this classic chin-length veil from the Spring 2018 Chanel Haute Couture show, so charming, and so Coco.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina16/41Let the good times roll! Groomsmen Masa Takaku, Brian Bakhtiari, Gui Machado, Trevor Andrew (aka GucciGhost), and Adam Kenworthy with groom João.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina17/41Somehow I found Versailles in California. When I decided on my dress, I immediately envisioned Sofia Coppola’s movie Marie Antoinette as the inspiration for everything: the decor, the desserts, the masquerade ball.
Photo: Courtesy of Nina Tiari19/41One of my unofficial bridesmen, Lutfi Janania, in a look he designed himself.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina20/41My baby’s breath bridesmaids Nicky Ahmadi and Julie Suhk in wearable bouquets by Kiana.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina22/41It was a moody day, in the otherwise always-sunny SoCal, but that didn’t stop us from making an entrance!
Photo: Elizabeth Messina23/41My almost hubby, João, with his parents, poet Jorge Salomão and video artist Sonia Miranda.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina24/41My stunning mother in a custom Nina Tiari gown, escorted down the aisle by my oldest nephew and her grandson, Kaveh Bakhtiari.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina25/41João hugging my father, Oscar Bakhtiari, before my father gives him my hand.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina26/41Walking down the aisle with my father to Nirvana on the strings, arrangement by the Allen G. Orchestra.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina28/41Looking into each other’s eyes and reciting our vows to one another while our closest friends witnessed was the most special moment of my life.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina29/41The Persian sofreh—listening to our officiant, Shahrzad Ardalan, recite our love story as my bridesmaids held the lace over our heads and my mother, Soraia Bakhtiari, and her three best friends, Agnes Gregorian, Nasrin Gaudreau, and Feri Moazeni, took turns rubbings the sugar cones over us to symbolize sweetness in our marriage and life.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina30/41My man of honor, David, bringing us honey to dip our fingers into and feed each other, to represent always being sweet and kind to each other. Traditionally, the bride is supposed to bite the finger of the groom when he feeds her the honey, to tease him that his wife is sweet and feisty!
Photo: Elizabeth Messina32/41My inspiration for dinner was A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare; Matias Doorn from Revelry Event Designers helped turn my idea into reality.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina39/41We danced the whole night, thanks to DJ Mike Soltani and percussionist Hershel!
