— 16.8.2025 —
Sara & Matt
We’re Getting Married! ما داریم با هم عروسی میگیریم
When Constellations Collide…
Sara and Matt joyfully request the pleasure of your presence as we speak our vows and join in sacred union with the blessings of our kin and community.
We'll start with a Christian marriage ceremony with Holy Communion, share a toast and some cake, and then move to the pub for our reception, speeches and dancing.
Dress code: Dragons & Bears!
When
Saturday 16th August 2025
Ceremony: 2pm—5pm
Reception: 5pm—8pm
Speeches & Dancing: 8pm-1am
Where
St John the Divine, Fishponds
Lodge Causeway
Bristol, BS16 3QG
The Greyhound Pub
80-82 Lodge Causeway
Bristol BS16 3JP
Accommodation Options
Lodge Causeway is an authentic Bristolian neighbourhood, and you won’t find any Air BnBs or hotels nearby. We recommend the following accommodations in Clifton Village and Central Bristol, all of which have easy public transport connections to both the wedding venues and out of the city.
Parking: There is good on-street parking in the area around the wedding venues.
*
The Avon Gorge
Join Sara, their family and friends in the beautiful Avon Gorge Hotel in Clifton Village, including gathering for an early light supper on Friday evening and a relaxed late lunch with the married couple on Sunday afternoon.
Also in Clifton Village:
The Washington Guesthouse
*
Fun Hostels
For those who want to make the most of their time in Bristol.
Harbourside Hostel
Full Moon Stokes Croft
*
Central Hotels
For ease of access to transport connections, including Bristol Temple Meads station and Bristol Airport.
Hilton Garden Inn
Ibis Bristol Temple Meads
dragon weds bear weds dragon weds bear weds
dragon weds bear weds dragon weds bear weds
The old stories of “bride” and “groom” just don’t fit our union, which is gender fluid, flush with omnipresent divinities, and rooted in the mythopoetic adventure of life. On the day of our ceremony of holy matrimony, we are excited to weave you into our unique story.
Matt is a Bear,
rooted like an old tree, a geezer, drifting through moonlit water, wild as open sky.
Sara is a Dragon,
singing from a fiery soul, a rare bird, brave as dawn, soft as summer sunset.
Which are you?
We’ve created the images above to activate your own inner knowing - which collage sings to your soul?
If you’re still not sure whether you are a dragon or a bear, place your hand on your heart and say out loud “I am a dragon” and then “I am a bear”. Your heart will know which you are.*
If these images inspire you to come to the wedding in full fancy dress, then we welcome your enthusiasm! And if you’re more of a demure dragon or a modest bear, then we’ll be glad to see you joining in with our chosen colour schemes.
*Yes, you can be a bit of both.
Let’s Feast!
It wouldn’t be us without our favourite, a flaming Persian BBQ sizzling with traditional lamb, chicken and vegan kebabs, tangy traditional pickles and platters of fresh herbs, with soft taftoon flatbreads fresh from the tandoor of our local Kurdish baker.
To weave you into each other’s lives, and to make this a truly co-created feast, we invite you to bring a dish to share!
Below are some suggested dishes that will beautifully complement the kebabs. And we also welcome your ingenuity, your family recipes and your prized offerings.
We invite each adult to prepare an offering that can to generously feed at least 8 guests - more is most welcome! If you’re coming as a family, one larger group offering is also welcome.
You’ll be dropping your dish off at the pub before the ceremony, and our on-the-day helpers will make sure everything is shared out among the guests.
Best to bring offerings that can be served at room temperature.
Please ensure that your offering is labelled with a full ingredients list so that we can take good care of each others dietary requirements and allergies.
Please consider labelling your serve ware so that you can easily retrieve it at the end of the feast.
When you RSVP, just let us know what you’re bringing, along with any dietary needs you have, so that we can care for each other well and be fully nourished.
SALADS
All that is fresh and nourishing is welcome at the feast! You could bring salad shirazi, a roasted chickpea salad, some yummy vegan ‘slaw or a juicy grilled peach and feta salad. Experiments encouraged.
SIDES
Mop up those kebab juices with Persian dill and broad bean baghali polo rice, or Sara’s favourite, javaher polo jewelled rice. Or keep it real with a tasty potato salad, a saucy mac’n’cheese, or something entirely different…
DIPS & SUNDRIES
It wouldn’t be a Persian BBQ without masto-khiar cucumber and mint yogurt and a baba ganoush style mirza ghasemi or kashke-bademjaan aubergine dips. It wouldn’t be a Bristol BBQ without some wildcard sauces, a samosa or two and a vast quantity of hummus. Surprise us!
SWEETS
Dragon and Bear Bake Off! Bring your best baklavas and your apple crumbles, your sholeh zards and your summer fruit cakes. Vegan and sugar-free offerings win a special prize. And if anyone brings zoolbia, good luck keeping it away from Sara’s Dad!
Gifts & Blessings
If you feel called to bless our new life together, we warmly welcome a gift toward our honeymoon.
We’ll spend three weeks in Tunisia—our first journey abroad as a couple—resting, dreaming, and exploring North Africa’s beauty and the luminous mysticism of Maghrebi Islamic culture.
Your offering might help us float beneath Mediterranean skies, stargaze in the hush of desert sands, tread lightly through the ruins of Carthage, or bring home treasures from golden markets.
Or, if you’d rather gift us something rooted—let it be a fruit tree, a fern or garden giant, to grow wild and wondrous alongside our love. Bring these to the church on the wedding day and we’ll create an altar of your gifts.
