Wedding Day

Wedding

The Biltmore Ballrooms

Reception

NOTE FOR PARENTS: Please email mahmoud@hatnote.com if you are planning on bringing children under the age of 12 (not including infants). Arrangements for on-site professional childcare are being made. We want parents to be able to take a break and celebrate while their children are in safe hands!

PLEASE READ BEFORE RSVPING

No website can capture what it's like to fall in love. Frankly, any text would struggle to describe how two people from different backgrounds, on opposite sides of the country became friends, built that friendship into a relationship, and agreed to marry.

Mahmoud and Maya first met the summer of 2014, attending a conference in downtown Atlanta. It's hard to say whether it was love at first sight, but there was a spark. Maya was silly, but could get serious. Then, as now, she loved to laugh. Which came in handy, because Mahmoud loves to joke.





And so we joked, and talked, alternating silly and serious. The conversations continued over the phone, often for 2-4 hours at a time. By 2015 we were dating and our ties have only gotten stronger since.





She came out to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit, he went to Atlanta, each of them ferrying family members. Building a relationship over long distances was challenging, but we made it work. Reading books, watching movies, and listening to the same radio shows, we grew together emotionally and intellectually.





For two years, even the choppiest waters felt smooth to navigate, and with each passing day we just made more and more sense to each other. We've each made the other a better, more complete person, and we've built a partnership greater than the sum of the partners.





In early September 2017, Mahmoud flew to Atlanta with his parents in tow. Before a home-cooked dinner together, he got down on one knee and asked Maya to be his wife. She said yes, of course, and we've never been happier or more excited!

Our Story

Our Wedding

Things to do

Weekend timeline

Visit the <a href="https://www.theknot.com/us/maya-ayoubi-and-mahmoud-hashemi-sep-2018/weekend-plans" target="_blank">Weekend Plans</a> page to see the main events. For things to do outside of Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening activities, here are some of Mahmoud and Maya's&nbsp;favorite spots in the ATL.

Atlanta Aquarium

Georgia's a coastal state. Now, Atlanta is inland, and Savannah is on the Atlantic, but let's not get into the details. Point is, biggest aquarium in the USA?&nbsp;Not Monterey:&nbsp;Atlanta. Dolphins, penguins, otters, giant tubes of glass to sit in, they got it all. You can even buy your tickets online: <a href="https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/">https://www.georgiaaquarium.or...</a>

Alton Brown's Atlanta

Famed among Food Channel fans and&nbsp;food-oriented people in general, Alton Brown has been talking up his hometown's eats for years. You can pretty much make a tour of the places he's namedropped. Here are some links to listicles of his latest recommendations:* <a href="https://gardenandgun.com/articles/alton-browns-atlanta/" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://gardenandgun.com/articles/alton-browns-atlanta/" target="_blank">Garden & Gun - January 2018</a> * <a href="https://www.bonappetit.com/city-guides/atlanta/article/alton-brown-atlanta" target="_blank">Bon Appetit - April 2016</a> * <a href="https://atlanta.eater.com/maps/this-is-where-alton-brown-likes-to-eat-in-atlanta" target="_blank">Eater Atlanta - Feb 2014</a> (w/ map)Let us know what's good!

Museums!

Atlanta is home to one of the finest medical universities in the country, Emory, and right next door you'll find the seat of American epidemiology, the Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention), the good ole CDC.

The Hashemi microbiological background has made the CDC Museum an unlikely tourist destination: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/museum/visitorinfo.htm">https://www.cdc.gov/museum/vis...</a>

The CDC Museum is unfortunately closed on the weekends, so mostly an option for those arriving Thursday/Friday or leaving Monday/Tuesday.For everyone else, there's lots of museums to choose from, including The Coca-Cola Museum (Coca-Cola is HQ'd in Atlanta, and actually made the founding donation for the CDC oddly enough), the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the High Museum of Art.&nbsp;More info and links here: <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60898-Activities-c49-Atlanta_Georgia.html">https://www.tripadvisor.com/At...</a>

Atlanta Architecture

As Mahmoud's good friend (and Harvard-graduated architect) Matt Conway can attest:&nbsp;Atlanta punches above its weight in architecture.Here's an architectural walking tour of Atlanta, featuring mostly historical buildings:&nbsp;<a href="https://atlanta.curbed.com/maps/a-walking-tour-of-atlantas-architectural-artifacts">https://atlanta.curbed.com/map...</a> If newer stuff is your thing, definitely don't miss Portman's work:&nbsp;<a href="http://portmanholdings.com/history/">http://portmanholdings.com/his...</a>Portman did his greatest work in Atlanta, San Francisco, and China, a coincidence&nbsp;Mahmoud always found remarkable.

Details

The Plan

This page features the main events of the weekend, <a href="https://weatherspark.com/y/15598/Average-Weather-in-Atlanta-Georgia-United-States-Year-Round#Sections-BestTime">objectively one of the best weekends to visit Atlanta all year</a>. For many, many more activities, curated by the couple, see <a href="https://www.theknot.com/us/maya-ayoubi-and-mahmoud-hashemi-sep-2018/details#things-to-do" target="_blank">the Details page, under Things to Do</a>.

Saturday

Meeting in the park!

Forecast says Atlanta's very pleasant in September, and what better way to enjoy that than among the plants at Atlanta's Botanical Garden?&nbsp;<a href="http://atlantabg.org/">http://atlantabg.org/</a>Meet us for a leisurely stroll at 2pm. We'll be out and about for most of the afternoon so feel free to join anytime.

Walk the Beltline!

The stroll continues through Piedmont Park and down <a href="https://www.atlantatrails.com/atlanta-running-walking-trails/atlanta-beltline-eastside-trail/" target="_blank">Atlanta's Beltline</a> to our evening destination. <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1jAzec9xWefjJUdOqsNDt00GywA0&amp;ll=33.769805366750575%2C-84.364058&amp;z=15" target="_blank">Map of the walk</a>.&nbsp;We should leave the Botanical Gardens by 4pm, amble about Piedmont for a while, and arrive at Ponce around 5:30pm.

Rooftop of the World!

Whether you walked with us or not, join us for a casual dinner at Maya's favorite Sichuan restaurant, <a href="https://atlanta.eater.com/2015/9/25/9398577/jia-ponce-city-market-hours-menu">Jia</a> (aka Tasty China), and then hop on up to <a href="https://www.poncecityroof.com/" target="_blank">the top of Ponce City Market</a> for carnival fun! If neither of those floats your boat, Ponce has lots to choose from, so definitely come on down! We'll be here from 6 to 9pm. Don't stay out too late!

Sunday

Reception at the Biltmore

The big event starts on Sunday at 5pm sharp! Maya and Mahmoud will enter at 6pm, dinner will be served, dances will be danced, and the party will continue until at least 10pm!

Other Days

Days Before

Maya will be in Atlanta for the weekdays running up to the wedding. Mahmoud will be arriving early on Friday, September 7th. If you need to meet up or do something in particular, let us know!

Days After

Maya and Mahmoud will be departing together on Tuesday, September 11th. If you'd like to make plans for Monday or Tuesday, please get in touch!

Maya & Mahmoud

Maya & Mahmoud

Travel

Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center

Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel