Pops of Color Wowed at This Three-Culture Wedding at Casa de la Guerra in Santa Barbara, California
For graduate school sweethearts Tara Mohseni and Rishi Gupta, wedding planning was all about focus. “Start your planning with a couple of high-level intentions for your wedding day and when you inevitably get bogged down in details, come back to those,” Tara advises of future couples. For them, the melding of their respective background cultures, as well as influence from their shared country, was the big idea. “We wanted our wedding to reflect the vibrant cultures we were raised in, both aesthetically and in tradition, but also include some of the elements of Western/American weddings we’ve gone to over the years,” Tara shares.
As first-generation Americans, Tara (whose family hails from Iran) and Rishi (whose family moved from India) had a litany of ideas when it came to designing their nuptials. An incredibly bright and playful color palette created an idyllic backdrop for their culture-heavy aesthetic. “We wanted our wedding decor to include tons of colors through florals and stationery, and we utilized hundreds of candles and votives along our reception and dinner tables to bring light and romance to our reception. Our palette included bright pinks, oranges, purples, and some red,” the couple tells.
After a few postponements due to the pandemic, Tara and Rishi’s wedding day finally arrived on a sunny November Saturday in Santa Barbara. In an effort to evoke laid-back, beachy vibes to reflect the setting, the bride donned a boho-chic lace gown featuring a sexy plunging neckline while the groom wore a stylish green tweed sport coat with his formal ensemble. Tara’s bouquet was a vibrant, technicolor dream—a mix of simple greenery with dyed calla lilies, orange carnations and equally bold flora as accents. “Florals were a crucial piece of our wedding design,” she confides. And, of course, the blossoms didn’t stop at the bouquet. “We used florals to bring life to an otherwise unadorned historic Spanish Presidio.”
The couple’s ceremony brought together important cultural and religious practices, all taking place at the boldly decorated altar, complete with candelabras, a woven rug and even more colorful flowers. “Florals were also one way we incorporated traditional Indian elements into our design through long carnation garlands hanging from the trees at our reception and a large mandeep backdrop for our ceremony,” they say.
Throughout the space, signage in equally punchy hues invited guests to dance, denoted their table numbers and displayed the newlyweds’ signature cocktail items. A hot pink sign playfully reading “Party Like We’ve Waited 1023 Days for This” sat proudly near the dance floor, referencing the COVID-19 postponements and Tara and Rishi’s original 2020 wedding date.
Reception tablescapes showcased simple petal runners, complimented by colorful candles of varying heights and sizes. Amber and yellow water goblets framed each place setting, which featured gold flatware, deep red linen napkins and a unique wedding favor for each attendee. “We left each guest with a small burlap gift sack holding a sampling of Garam Masala spice and Saffron from Iran, a symbol of the melding of our two cultures and reflective of our shared love for cooking,” says Tara.
Of all the memorable experiences throughout the day, one overall concept stands out as the bride and groom’s favorite. “If we had to choose one moment, it would be bringing our friends and family together to participate and witness the unique ceremony we designed, which was a blend of traditional ceremonial elements of our three cultures.”