You are the people who make us feel truly at home, the ones we can always pick up with, no matter the time or distance. Your love and support have shaped us, and we are deeply thankful. Thank you for being our community.

Now let's bring our worlds together and celebrate!!!!!

Friday August 29th 7pm Welcome Drinks

Saturday August 30th 5pm Ceremony & Reception

Sunday August 31st 11:00 Backyard Brunch

We're planning a wedding weekend that truly reflects us: authentic, creative, exciting, and full of spontaneous moments. This isn't just a wedding; it's a chance to bring together our full, ever-growing community – many of whom haven't yet seen our day-to-day life since Michael, Azi, and Anna quickly became a family. This will likely be the only time everyone is together, and we can't wait for you to be a part of it all.

Please note: When you RSVP, you'll be able to let us know which of our wedding weekend events you'll be able to attend.

We're kicking off our wedding weekend on Friday, August 29th Join us for a welcome event at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe from 7:00pm-10:30pm. While you wait for us to wrap up our rehearsal dinner, have a drink on us!

This isn't your average sports bar! It's the dream of the Amra brothers, who wanted to create a place where great food, drinks and a fantastic game-watching experience could finally come together.

Come enjoy an ice cold beverage overlooking the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Durham's very own minor league baseball team will be playing the Worcester Red Sox. You'll want to hang out until the end to see the EPIC fireworks show at the end of the game. Seriously, better than Navy Pier.

Our ceremony and reception will both be held at The Rickhouse in downtown Durham at 5:00pm on Saturday, August 30th. Get ready for a celebration that's more about being together, uniting two incredible communities, while getting a real taste of life in Durham. We are especially excited for the party vibes, and we hope you'll all be dancing and celebrating with us into the night.

Fun Fact: The Rickhouse overlooks the famed Durham Athletic Park, the original home of the Durham Bulls, in the Central Park district of downtown Durham.

While Saturday at The Rickhouse will be an iconic day of wedding, the event that truly holds our hearts is our backyard gathering at our Durham home on Sunday, August 31st at 11am-2pm.

We've poured so much love into DIY projects to create a welcoming and fun space for both kids and adults, embodying the "backyard wedding" vibe we initially dreamed of. We decided, why settle for just one gathering?! This is open to our entire community and is our chance to introduce you to our real, everyday life here. It means the world to us to have these genuine moments with all of you and we are grateful you're taking the time, money and energy to be here celebrating together.

In general, we want to acknowledge that while we have a lot to celebrate, others in our direct communities and beyond aren't as lucky. Durham, for all its vibrancy and growth, has a complex history where systemic inequalities have impacted its minority communities. For example, the historic Black Wall Street in Durham, a thriving center of Black-owned businesses and cultural life, was largely destroyed by urban renewal projects and the construction of the Durham Freeway in the mid-20th century. This disproportionately displaced Black residents and businesses, erasing a significant part of the city's Black economic and cultural heritage and contributing to ongoing wealth disparities.

We're doing our best to support local, minority-owned vendors where we can, as small gestures like these can make a difference in fostering economic equity. Additionally, our website includes other locally owned Durham favorites, and we encourage you to take a peek in case you have any downtime. It feels insignificant when the world is falling apart, but it's a small gesture to support less privileged artists and businesses in our community.

The world is undeniably heavy with news of wars, deepening inequalities, and inhumane acts. In this climate, it's vital to acknowledge our own gratitude and privilege, and to consciously hold space for those suffering. Celebration in difficult times is not about ignoring reality. It's about finding sustainable ways to remain human, hopeful, and engaged. It can be an act of defiance against despair, and a way to gather strength for the ongoing work of compassion and justice, all while acknowledging those for whom joy feels distant.

For us, this celebration matters, especially now, because it’s an opportunity to root in our values. This weekend is a powerful affirmation of love, community, and human dignity – values that are often under attack these days. The ability to celebrate right now is a privilege; we hope we can use our gratitude as an opportunity to fuel meaningful action. Shared joy builds solidarity and reminds us of our collective capacity for hope.