Real Weddings: Melina and Zach

Melina Sabeti-Mehr, a 32-year-old arts programmer and curator, and Zach Van Horne, a 36-year-old social worker, met on a blind date in 2015. They had both recently gotten out of long-term relationships and decided to just be friends, but they soon developed feelings for each other. Eighteen months later, they moved in together. After nine years of dating, the couple got engaged at the Three Speed in Bloordale. A year later, in 2024, they got married at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, surrounded by 110 guests. The colourful celebration included wacky flowers, Iranian wedding traditions and a surprise gift from Winnipeg punk band Propagandhi. Here’s how it all came together.

Melina: In 2015, Zach and I were both newly single, and neither of us was looking to jump into anything serious. But I was curious about dating, so I asked a friend if they knew any good guys. They immediately thought of Zach but issued a warning that, while Zach was both good and available, he might be sad.

Zach: I was indeed sad after my break-up, but it sounded like Melina and I had so much in common. We agreed to go on a blind date and met up at the Three Speed.

Melina: A slow-burn friendship evolved over the next six months, but we were also developing feelings for each other. We would hang out in west-end parks, watch stand-up specials at my apartment, and go to punk and indie shows. It was sweet and innocent.

Zach: On our third time hanging out, we took the bus to Buffalo to see the quasi-old-man band Built to Spill.

Melina: I was trying to play it cool, but I was acting a bit unhinged because I was so nervous. I liked him so much already.

Zach: Eventually, I needed to express the feelings that were building up before I messed it up or missed my chance. One day, outside of Melina’s apartment, I blurted out, “Can we just date?”

Melina: I said yes, clearly, and it was the best decision ever. From then on, we were together 24/7, sharing new things with each other and intertwining our lives. After we’d been dating for about a year, my roommate announced that she was moving out. Our conversation about living together was short—we were all-in, and it felt like the natural next step.

Zach: Living together was awesome, but a few months in, Melina’s uncle passed away. There was a lot of grief in our new shared space.

Melina: When we felt like we’d gotten through the worst, in 2016, we got bedbugs. Then we were renovicted.

Zach: From the start, it felt like we were being stress-tested by life. But we weathered it together.

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Melina: Every few years, we would float the idea of tying the knot, but neither of us are huge marriage people who dreamed of a big wedding, so the conversation stalled.

Zach: In 2023, I finished my undergraduate degree and was accepted into a master’s program for social work. I had a gulf of free time between the two, and we thought about how fun it would be to throw a big party for the people we love most.

Melina: We also felt confident in our relationship. We thought, We’ve done everything else and we still want to be together. Let’s just do it!

Zach: Asking Melina’s parents for her hand was my first priority.

Melina: I’m Iranian, and my family are Bahá’í. In the Bahá’í faith, a couple needs permission from both sets of parents to get married. Even though I’m not a registered Bahá’í, I respect its spiritual teachings, ethical practices and community values, and I wanted to honour the tradition.

Zach: I like to think Melina’s parents were always going to say yes, but I wanted to show the Bahá’ís my respect.

Melina: My dad’s an aviation nerd, so we planned a family outing to an air show with him, my mom, my grandmother and my brother. We made a day of it with a picnic followed by an early dinner at Manita.

Zach: I waited a long time to bring up marriage, but when I finally worked up the courage to ask Melina’s parents, they were overjoyed.

Melina: My dad cried. It was the first time I’d seen him shed a tear.

Zach: Melina and I planned the proposal together. She helped pick out the engagement ring and wedding band at Emilian Jewellery in North York.

Melina: They had a sample of the ring I wanted, but I customized it with an 18-karat gold band and light purple sapphires surrounding the diamond. We picked out a 14-karat gold ring with detailed engravings for Zach.

Zach: In late winter of 2023, I planned a date night at Comedy Bar followed by drinks and snacks at the Three Speed—our first-date spot.

Melina: Zach proposed in our favourite corner of the bar, tucked away near the patio door. It was a Thursday night, and the bar was buzzy but not overwhelmingly busy. When I saw the ring for the first time, I was shocked and elated. Even though I knew the proposal was coming, I had no idea it would happen that night. I couldn’t stop staring at the ring and hugging Zach.

Zach: The bartenders caught on pretty quickly and brought us dessert. They were almost as ecstatic as we were.

Related: Inside a design-forward wedding celebration at Lune 1860 in Goderich

Melina: We chilled out on the wedding planning for a month or two, but we checked out venues casually. Many of the places we looked at were either way out of our budget or didn’t suit our personalities.

Zach: A lot of them felt very “Pinterest wedding-core,” or they were overly polished and oddly corporate—the opposite of what we were looking for.

Melina: We almost booked a gallery on Geary, but then we saw a gorgeous farm online. It had massive flower gardens and a dreamy indoor-outdoor vibe. It was out of our budget, but it planted a seed.

Zach: We wanted something with open air, blooms and texture, so we started thinking about public parks.

Melina: That led us to the Toronto Botanical Gardens. I loved visiting Edwards Gardens, the public part of the Toronto Botanical Gardens, as a kid. Having our wedding there felt like a natural fit.

Zach: Once we had the venue locked in, everything else fell into place. The gardens shaped the vibe: bright colours, breezy, peak August heat—nothing too traditional or stuffy. Since the venue didn’t include anything but the space, we had a ton of creative liberty to plan our dream dance party.

Melina: I wanted to wear loud and colourful outfits to match. In traditional Persian weddings, brides don’t wear white, and I wanted a ceremony and reception dress that I could wear again. One of my favourite designers, Chelsea Mak in New York, had a white dress that I loved. It was classic with a twist—it had a boxy bodice, a tiered skirt, a strappy low back and silk with sheen. It had movement. Chelsea agreed to make an orange version for me for our ceremony.

For the reception, I messaged the Vancouver designer of Fyoocher and asked her if she could change the colour and fabric of one of her designs for me. The mid-length, form-fitting fuchsia dress has slits, a corset back and orange tie details.

Zach: I was having bad luck with my outfit. The suit I originally ordered didn’t suit me—pun intended—so I returned it. Then I couldn’t find the right linen suit I was looking for in person. Eventually, a friend dragged me to Tom’s Place in Kensington Market. I was skeptical. In my mind, Tom’s was an old guy’s store. The staff are big characters, and they stared right into my suit-less soul. They pulled out a pale pistachio suit in a lightweight material, and it was love at first sight.

Melina: We asked local designer Kathryn Bowen to make a pocket square from the fabric of my ceremony dress for Zach. The stemmy green of Zach’s suit and petal tones of my dresses matched our flowerscape.

Zach: Before the wedding, we had two engagement parties—one for family and one for friends.

Melina: As a trial run for the wedding, we had Iranian food from my family’s best-kept secret, Ava Esfahan. It’s technically not even a restaurant—it’s a market with a hot counter at the back.

Zach: They have juicy kebabs, spiced rice and fresh salads. It’s undeniably delicious, but I was nervous. My family is very meat-and-potatoes, and they’d never had Iranian food.

Melina: But Zach’s parents loved it. It was a revelation for them. My parents had been encouraging us to go with Italian food for the wedding—they were like, “Just serve a nice red-sauce pasta. Everyone loves that!”

Zach: We ended up serving Iranian food. It was flexible and easy to make vegetarian and vegan.

Melina: We tried to incorporate our loved ones into the wedding so that nearly every detail had a personal touch. Our best friends, Sam and Mike, designed the stationery—invites, wedding favours, signage. Our friend Jillian emceed. Yet another friend, Kim, came out of florist retirement just for us and really freaked it.

Zach: We asked for “wacky field flowers,” and she nailed it with unusual shapes and bold colours. Some people thought the venue provided the floral arrangements, but Kim hand-picked every single flower.

Melina: Our wedding day, August 3, was a classic hot and humid Toronto day. We had about 110 guests, but it still felt intimate. Right before the ceremony, we exchanged our vows privately on a bench in the gardens. The whole day was so public, but the vows were ours.

Zach: It felt like a tiny elopement inside of a big wedding. Afterward, Melina’s dad led the ceremony, sharing sweet stories. Then we signed our marriage certificate with the Bahá’í assembly before Melina’s mom read a prayer.

Melina: We held a traditional sofreh aghd ceremony that my aunts assembled. Essentially, it’s a wedding table with a spread of symbolic objects that imbue the marriage with well wishes—like a mirror for clarity, pomegranates for health, coins for prosperity, a book for perpetual learning and candles for enlightenment.

Zach: A printed card explained everything for guests. During the ceremony, two of our friends held a white cloth over our heads while a third sprinkled sugar above us to symbolize a sweet marriage.

Melina: Persian culture is nothing if not deeply romantic. Afterward, we served cheese and charcuterie boards from Cheese Boutique.

Zach: The bar, by mobile cocktail caterer Barecular, had mocktails and three custom cocktails—a mojito, an espresso martini and a lavender mule. We also had 100 takeout containers so people could bring home leftovers from dinner. Some guests left with teetering towers of containers.

Melina: For dessert, we served platters of Persian shirini pastries from Red Rose—the same ones we always bring to parties.

Zach: Our first dance was to Nina Simone’s “What More Can I Say?” It was short and sweet. No one needed to watch us dance for more than three minutes.

Melina: The whole day had thoughtful music woven throughout. We started with soft and sentimental tunes before moving into Iranian disco, R&B, hip hop and world pop.

Zach: When the music took hold of our guests, our DJ, Ram, started up. Even the serving staff were dancing.

Melina: My mom was mad about that, but it was so sweet—just a group of middle-aged Persian ladies swept up in the vibe.

Zach: Later, Melina’s uncle Ross gave us a hilarious surprise.

Melina: Growing up, Zach was obsessed with this punk band from Winnipeg called Propagandhi.

Zach: I’m still pretty obsessed with them.

Melina: It turns out that my uncle is somehow related to the bass player.

Zach: Just before dinner, Ross walked up to our table with an iPad and played a video from Chris and Todd from the band wishing us a happy marriage. It’s probably the only Propagandhi Cameo in existence.

Melina: After hours of cutting a rug on the dance floor, we wrapped up around 1:30 a.m.

Zach: Being married feels different, but it’s subtle. We were already committed to each other, but now there’s an extra layer of certainty.

Melina: We made a big decision, and we feel secure in it. It’s peaceful. Even if we piss each other off, there’s no spiralling; we have to move through it together.

Zach: Also, saying “my wife” and “my husband” is fun. “Don’t speak to my wife like that!” is something I don’t ever want to have to say, but it’s powerful.

Melina: For anyone thinking about getting married, I say, be creative. There’s so much pressure to do things a certain way, but remember that you can do whatever you want. Be thrifty. Use your people. Build something that feels like you.

Zach: Don’t let family pressure take over. You can consider them without letting them dictate the whole day.

Melina: We might go on a belated honeymoon someday, but for now we’re saving our pennies. Hosting a wedding was magical. A garden full of family and friends, good food, dancing and laughter. As Nina Simone said, what more can I say?

Cheat Sheet

Wedding Date: August 3, 2024 Photography: Bradley Golding with second shooter Greg Trumper Venue: Toronto Botanical Gardens Officiants: Melina’s dad, Hal, and the Baháʼí Assembly Floral arrangements: Kim Lum Invitations: Designed by Mikey Corpuz (@okcaveat), letterpress printed by All Sorts Press Paper goods: Bingo Bango Press (custom wedding menus) Food: Cheese Boutique, Ava Esfahan, Red Rose Patisserie Refreshments: Barecular DJ: DJ Rejjie10 Bride’s ceremony dress: Chelsea Mak Bride’s reception dress: Fyoocher Bride’s shoes: Gucci Bride’s hair: Katie Didham of Gel (@gel.with.us) Bride’s makeup: Lilly Mehari Bride’s nails: Nails Nineteenth Bride’s ring: Emilian Jewellery Groom’s suit: Tom’s Place Groom’s ring: Emilian Jewellery Day-of planner: Events Your Way Party favours: Custom sticker sheet by Bingo Bango Press (@bingobangopress) and custom matchboxes by Mikey Corpuz