“Our best friends are married to each other, which always kept us somewhat in the same circle,” Sharis Shanazarian reveals of Arvin Bazik, who she married nine years after their first encounter. “I always thought he was cute and knew he was really special.”

Realizing the eternal love they share, Arvin was ready to propose to his sweetheart in a fascinating way. “I walked onto the balcony to see Arvin standing there with a huge bouquet of flowers and an airplane circling around the home with a sign that read, ‘I love you Shar, Will you Marry Me?’” she remembers.

Raised in Glendale, California, the lovebirds were dedicated to finding the perfect wedding venue in their hometown. “We both grew up in the area and our love story started there, so it was important to us to get married there as well,” the bride explains. It was also important to them to honor their cultural roots throughout the occasion. “The Armenian wedding tradition where the bride leaves from her family home is something I always knew I wanted to do. I have been to enough weddings to know how emotional and monumental it is for Armenian families, so when it was my turn, I really looked forward to it,” she reminisces.

After the lovely ceremony, more than 400 guests relocated to the reception space for what the bride calls an “all-white wedding wonderland.” “I just knew I wanted the wedding to be extra white and very romantic,” Sharis reveals. “Even my bridesmaids wore white gowns!”

This aesthetic was beautifully executed through the creativity of the couple’s florist, Eddie Zaratsian. “Our background had cherry blossom trees that gave me life that day! Eddie was very particular in not overdoing anything on this look, because one little thing could have made it look very off,” she says. “When we first walked into our ballroom, we were in awe of what Eddie and his team created [and] it was more than I could have ever dreamed of as a bride.”

In addition to the enchanting ambience, friends and loved ones enjoyed the photo booth, handcrafted cocktails, and watching the bride dance with her uncles, cousins, and brother.  “[I did] a dedication dance with the most important men in my life, which was so incredible and very emotional,” she tells.

Despite the inevitable nerves of weddings, Sharis affirms the importance of cherishing every moment. “Throughout planning, I stayed super calm because nothing about wedding planning is life threatening, so why freak out?” she says. “Our wedding day was so magical, and nothing could have got in the way of that.”