Doctors Blair and Iman first met (actually twice) while traveling around the country interviewing at various hospitals for their OBGYN medical training. As fate would have it, they both matched for the same residency at the University of California San Francisco.
After a little more than two years together, the proposals happened during a weekend away in the woods of Mendocino. “I proposed one night with a ring we had picked out together,” Iman shares. “She proposed the next morning with a ring she had sneakily gotten for me.”
Once engaged, the pair decided to wed at Blair’s family’s home in the Hudson Valley. “Iman’s family is from Algeria, and while we knew many of her family members wouldn’t be able to make it to the wedding, we wanted to bring as much Algerian influence and inspiration as possible, which hugely influenced our aesthetic,” Blair says. “Our amazing wedding planner and designer, Jove Meyer, really helped us crystalize the aesthetic by merging the season, the setting, and our wishes for an Algerian-inspired celebration.”
Hudson River Photographer was there to capture every moment of the weekend. And Emily Baird set the tone with a colorful and seasonal invitation suite.
For their early autumn wedding, Blair and Iman wanted to keep their wedding wardrobes as simple as possible. A Jil Sander dress called to Blair. It fit like a glove and felt just right. The bride paired it with Elizabeth Locke earrings that her father gifted to her.
“I wanted a special suit that was celebratory and the right amount of gender-bending,” Iman explains. She went with a special ivory three-piece suit from Bella Freud and accessorized with her grandmother’s gold bangles.
As the couple got ready together, they relied on the same talented beauty professional. “It was really important to us that our wedding vendors were from the LGBTQ community, and beauty was especially important in that,” Iman says. “Laura Mitchell was absolutely incredible, and we had the most fun getting ready with her help.”
On September 30, 2023, Blair and Iman were wed by one of their close friends, who sweetly spoke about the women as individuals, their relationship, their community, and their commitment to each other. Two other pals read important texts to the couple: a sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and a poem by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. “They both write about love so beautifully, and it was so special to include them,” Blair says. “Iman and I each wrote our own vows that we also shared with each other.”
Once announced as officially married, the newlyweds joined their guests under a sprawling Events Unlimited tent with warm florals by Saipua for the North African–inspired meal by Fig & Pig Catering. Dessert was a tiered fruit-forward wedding cake from Aimee France.
Entertainment from Phoenix of Element Music kept everyone dancing and deeply understood the couple’s musical taste. Blair and Iman took to the dance floor for their first dance to “The Story” by Brandi Carlisle. “A few weeks before the wedding we decided to choreograph a dance,” Iman smiles. “We watched a few YouTube videos and had so much fun coming up with something. It ended up being one of our favorite moments of the evening!”
After the reception came to a formal close, the dancing continued in a barn down the hill. DJ TRx kept the good times rolling through the night. And post-Sunday brunch, the newlyweds headed to Provincetown, Massachusetts for an idyllic honeymoon.
