Sheyda Mehrara was on a date with someone else the night she met Kevin Plenge. “It started off as a night with someone named Daniel,” she remembers. They were on a set-up double date with another friend. “We were sitting at the lounge and in walked this man who immediately caught my attention. It really was because of a certain confidence he had in his walk—and his distinctive jawline. I looked over at my friend, who knew what I was thinking, and she said, ‘Sheyda, pay attention to Daniel!’ But as luck would have it, this man walked up to us and asked if he could join us because there were no other seats in the lounge. Of course, I said yes immediately. Kevin sat down and we all got to chatting.”
They went their separate ways after that, until a few weeks later, when Kevin tried to call her workplace, remembering where she said she worked. “Somewhere out there is this beautiful, sweet voice message asking me on a date, and I never heard it,” Sheyda explains. “Instead of giving up, though, Kevin proceeded to find me on LinkedIn in an attempt to ask me on a date. Talk about pursuit!” It was meant to be. A relationship blossomed, and the duo dated three years before Kevin proposed with a WWAKE ring the couple designed together.
Their venue search was yet another proof that fate works in mysterious ways. They had booked La Torre della Duchessa in Umbria but didn’t fully think through that the surrounding wheat fields wouldn’t work well with the bride’s severe gluten allergy in harvest season. They went into full research mode to find an alternative—“I think I looked at every villa in Tuscany,” the bride says—until they came across Villa Grabau, a family-owned estate and wedding venue, and its adjacent 12-bedroom vacation apartments, Villa Arancera. It required them to push up their wedding date, but the venue still had some 2024 dates available.“Everything really does work out for a reason.”
Next, Sheyda turned to a couple of dear friends in the events world, including planner and designer Christopher Confero. He immediately understood her vision. “Knowing that Kevin and I are enchanted by Sandro Botticelli’s paintings, Christopher decided to designate the Renaissance painter as our muse,” Sheyda says. “Every decision was a celebration of timeless beauty inspired by the masterpieces ‘Primavera’ and ‘The Birth of Venus.’ We decided that it would be an Italian x Persian wedding, set against the backdrop of Villa Grabau in Lucca. This wedding was not just a union of two souls but a homage to the artistic spirit that defines Italy, a day where romance and creativity intertwined in perfect harmony.”
The bride’s fashion, of course, had to follow suit. “My custom gown, crafted by Renhue, drew inspiration from both Audrey Hepburn’s iconic Givenchy elegance and allure of the goddess Venus, perfectly blending classic Hollywood glamour with Renaissance artistry,” she says. “The entire dress and Watteau train were made of luxe sheen duchess satin, and Renhue also designed and produced a dramatic Mantilla lace veil.” In Persian tradition, the bride’s family gifted her a jewelry set to finish the look, awash with emeralds and diamonds.
For her second look, Sheyda chose a floral Khaite dress from the label’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection, for which Christopher found a matching textile for the reception linens; and for her third, a short ivory SHUSHU/TONG design.
On July 11, 2024, a Renaissance painting came to life for the couple’s ceremony. “The vast variety of flowers [by Chiara Sperti Florals] included at the altar mimicked ‘Primavera,’ where archivists have identified that Botticelli painted 137 different flora,” Sheyda says.
“As the ceremony began, the sun quietly tucked below the tall cypress hedges, providing the perfect light that bounced around the garden,” Kevin remembers. “[Our officiant] Vincent eloquently guided us and guests through the ceremony more as a narrator than a minister.” The couple was seated at the sofreh aghd table, where they exchanged vows and participated in traditional Persian rites, like the sugar veil blessing. “There is not an ounce of fear, only the great warmth that comes from publicly committing to the love of your life.”
For dinner after the emotional ceremony, Roland’s catered a gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free menu to accommodate Sheyda’s dietary restrictions. There was a salad with pink grapefruit and green apple, risotto with zucchini flowers, duck breast with orange sauce, and filet, followed by gluten-free lemon cake and Persian cookies—all served on vintage Ginori La Scala plateware.
After dancing to Louis Armstrong’s “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” the couple decorated and cut a traditional Italian millefoglie and poured a Champagne tower. “Behind us, the pulsating beat of ‘Veridis Quo’ by Daft Punk started to get louder, and the large wooden doors to the limonaia opened to reveal the DJ, dance floor, and party lighting that awaited,” Kevin describes. “Christopher rushed out, threw up his hands and yelled ‘It’s time to PARTAAAYY!!!’ then we led the attendees inside to get the night of movement going.” DavidXDaisy wove the playlist between classic Persian and American pop music.
When it was over, “we walked back to Villa Arancera next door, and everyone staying with us got into their pajamas, cheered to the night, and crawled into bed,” Sheyda says. It was the perfect ending to an idyllic week.
