A Garden of Eden-Inspired wedding at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California

My husband and I literally lived on top of each other,” says Lilly Ghalichi. She and Dara Mir lived in the same high-rise building, with Dara’s apartment being right above Lilly’s. The two didn’t meet, however, until Lilly bought a new car and had to ask the board for a new parking spot. 

Dara was on the board, and sent Lilly a sweet follow-up text asking how she was enjoying the new spot. The text message led to a first date.  “I think we both knew right away that we had a really strong connection,” Lilly adds. “He even kept the receipt from that dinner, and we framed it in a scrapbook a year later.”

A few months into their relationship, the couple was planning Dara’s birthday while he was in the process of redesigning a house he had purchased in Bel-Air. They decided to host his party at the house before its demolition, so everyone could see the before and after designs. 

The night before the party, Dara suggested he and Lilly stop by the house to check on the Great Gatsby-themed decorations. After they arrived, he said he wanted to show her the gazebo at the top of a hill on the property, as “he had turned it into a hookah lounge.” “I complained the entire time,” Lilly laughs. “I told him I was wearing heels and I’m not walking up that mountain.”

With enough persuasion, Lilly made it to the top of the hill to find the gazebo transformed with chandeliers and champagne. Dara proposed with the hope that one day, he and Lilly could point to the top of the hill and tell their children, “That’s where mommy and daddy got engaged.” The proposal was sealed with an engagement ring designed by Dara’s mother. “My mother-in-law is the most fashionable woman in the world,” Lilly states. “I’m obsessed with it. There’s nothing about the ring I’d change.”

Working with event designer and longtime friend, Sunny Ravanbach of White Lilac Inc., Lilly and Dara pieced together an elegant wedding inspired by the Garden of Eden. The bride walked down the aisle in a lavish Persian ceremony, wearing an incredible 90-pound ball gown by Ryan & Walter Bridal. An exquisite sofreh aghd was designed in honor of the bride and groom’s Persian heritage, and both recited vows they had written for each other.

Despite having a late rehearsal dinner and party the night before, the newlyweds and their 360 guests never stopped dancing during the reception. “At our weddings, nobody sits down—that’s like an insult,” says the bride. “It’s all about partying.” 

The celebration didn’t end until 4am, when the bride finally had to take off her heels and laid down right on the dance floor. Her new husband, of course, quickly whisked her away.

Within 24 hours, the newlyweds took off on their one-week honeymoon in Bora Bora. They had traveled so much independently, that Bora Bora was one of the few places they could both experience for the first time together. “I was overwhelmed with happiness,” Lilly recalls. “It’s such an amazing feeling to have that love—and a celebration of that love—with the people you love.