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Home · Weddings

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding

Theater school sweethearts Diarra and Miles started off as close friends, but soon realized they were meant to be much more when he directed her in a play and the off-camera chemistry was amazing! See their fabulous outdoor “I Dos!”

By Charli Penn · Updated October 27, 2020
01
No Going Back

After becoming friends while attending college at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Miles decided he wanted more than just a friendship with Diarra and made his move. “He asked to kiss me one night, at a party,” she recalls. “And that’s usually a classic mistake. You’re not supposed to ask. But it worked. We kissed that night and that was pretty much it. There was no going back!”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
02
Dress Success

A sweet dress portrait for a fabulous wedding gown. “My friend Dominique Dawson is an amazing stylist and she helped me pick out my dress,” says the bride. We like her taste!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
03
It’s All About The Details

We just love the detail on Diarra’s Claire Pettibone gown.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
04
A Full Circle Moment

“One of my oldest friends Aisha Benton did my makeup,” Diarra says. “It all came full circle. Now she’s a professional make-up artist, but when she first did my makeup for the junior prom, it was just a hobby.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
05
Natural Beauty

“My auntie Karen Moore did my hair and I was certain I didn’t want to
straighten my hair for the big day,” Diarra explains. “But I’ve been natural for a while, so many of the natural bride up-dos I saw, I had done before for other events. I feel like a lot of times braids are relegated to being thought of as a vacation hair-style or just a summer-do. But there’s such a regality to braids and cornrows and I wanted to celebrate that. My auntie has been braiding my hair since I was a little girl back in Detroit, I thought since the whole day was a celebration of family it would be fitting for a family member to do my hair.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
06
Cheers to Her!

Diarra shares a toast with her girls!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
07
Comfort Meets Style

“I locked down my shoes just a week before the wedding,” says Diarra. “I got them from Macy’s, nothing fancy. I wanted to be able to dance.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
08
He Makes Her Melt

“What I love most about Miles are his heart, his mind, and his hands,” gushes the bride.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
09
She Rocked It Right

“I felt really confident and beautiful in my dress,” Diarra says. And, it showed!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
10
The Back Story

“My veil was made by Naila Sanders, who’s a costume designer in LA. She has designed for a bunch of plays that I’ve been in,” says Diarra. “So it definitely had a theatrical feel to it. I loved the length and the drama of it. I wore baby’s breath in my hair and gold pins that belonged to Miles’ great-great grandmother. I hadn’t decided on my earrings until the day of. I had literally three generations of earrings from both my family and Miles’ side to choose from. I tried them all on and my bridesmaids agreed I should go with the final pair, which weren’t a family heirloom. They were no more than $15 from a store in Koreatown. But they were perfect.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
11
Partner For Life

“Besides the fact that she’s beautiful, intelligent and hilarious, she has a great vision for me and who I am trying to become,” says Miles. “She helps push me to become a better man every day. Diarra is my best friend. There’s no one I’d rather travel through life with.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
12
Fierce Blooms

“I really delegated the flowers to my mother,” says the bride. “I told my mom I wanted purples, pinks, lilacs and lavenders and she found the florist and took the rest from there. I was more interested in the color palette than the exact types of flowers.” Florentyna’s A Fine Flower Company did a lovely job.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
13
Only You

“When I realized I had something to learn from him by being his mate, I knew he was the one,” Diarra explains. “At the wedding, our reverend said there are gifts in you that only he activates and vice-versa and I smiled because I really know that to be true.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
14
She’s Got This!

“After college we went to Thailand for a few months and I ended up in the hospital with a very serious eye infection,” says Miles. “The doctors said I might go blind. I spent three weeks in the hospital and she slept on a tiny couch in the room. My parents offered to come and take care of me but she told them, ‘I got this.’ She really had my back. That’s when I realized she was the one. But I keep learning it every year on a deeper level as our relationship evolves.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
15
Go With The Flow

“I wanted my bridesmaids looks to be soft and flowing,” says Diarra.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
16
All Around Beauties

“I knew they would need different dresses because they were women with such different bodies and skin tones and I wanted to celebrate their various attributes,” Diarra continues. “And I wanted to pick dresses that they could wear again and look beautiful in.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
17
Hanging With The Fellas

Miles and his groomsmen pose for the cameras!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
18
Standing Proud

What a lovely bunch!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
19
Unforgettable Moments

Diarra and Miles’ tender love radiates from their wedding photos. Here, she made her way to meet him during their romantic first look.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
20
Best Friends Forever

“Miles is my best friend,” says Diarra. “He makes me laugh harder than anyone. He sees me, he gets me, he loves and he supports me.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
21
Love All Around

Miles and Diarra had plenty of compliments to go around. “She’s incredibly talented and super smart,” says Miles. “She’s very funny and sharp. On top of all that, she’s sexy as hell. It’s a good package.” Diarra sings his praises too! “There’s a lot of depth there,” she adds. “Miles is grounded, quick-witted, highly intelligent, compassionate and creative.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
22
A Standout Guy From The Start

“One of our first dates, he cooked lamb chops, in a brandy cream sauce,
green beans, and roasted rosemary potatoes, and I was done,” says Diarra. “I wouldn’t even eat that now. LOL. Now he makes a lot more vegan or vegetarian dishes. But at that time, I was like, this guy is something special. Who makes lamb chops from scratch in college? And then he had the nerve to give me a massage afterwards. I have to admit, he might have sealed it up then and there. But, as we grew and matured together, I was able to see all the depth of who he is. Frankly I was impressed.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
23
Sweet Serendipity

“When Miles and I got together, I was so young,” Diarra admits. “I certainly wasn’t husband hunting. In many ways, its been the happiest of accidents.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
24
Elegance Realized

Diarra and Miles’ big day was bursting with rustic elegance from the details to the backdrop.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
25
Small and Sweet

Diarra’s niece Anaya was their flower girl!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
26
A Magic Moment

“When Diarra came down the aisle,” says Miles. “That feeling is something that I’ll never forget.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
27
So Incredible

“I got a lot of my crying out at the rehearsal,” says Diarra. My maid of honor, Farron, told me to press my tongue against the roof of my mouth and it would stop my tear ducts. It worked, for the most part, but I still dropped a few tears.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
28
The Perfect Spot

The couple’s wedding venue, The 1909 was absolutely breathtaking.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
29
Inspiring To All

“We decided early on, we would write our own,” says Miles. “I’m glad we did. Our vows really touched people. So many people told me that ours was the best wedding they’d ever been to and one of our friends recorded our vows and plays them back on his iPhone for inspiration.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
30
We Love It!

We love absolutely everything about this picture!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
31
A Moment Of Pride

“Looking into his eyes, I was really connected to him and I felt very proud of us,” says Diarra. “It was like we were both putting away our childish things together. It was a beautiful moment!”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
32
Sealed With A Kiss

Diarra and Miles sealed the deal with a romantic first kiss as husband and wife.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
33
Here They Come

Meet the new Mr. and Mrs!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
34
A Lucky Man

“I felt like I’ve made the right choice,” says Miles. “Looking into her eyes it was just right. And I felt really lucky.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
35
Love Is In The Air

We can feel the love!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
36
Show Off Your Glow

Just look at Diarra’s bridal glow go!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
37
The Mixing Of Lands

“We also had a mixing of lands where we combined soil from both our hometowns, Bolinas, California (his) and Detroit, Michigan (mine),” says Diarra. “We planted literal and figurative seeds for our marriage. We also gave our guests seeds and invited them to plant seeds for our union in their own homes and gardens or parks.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
38
Name It and Claim It

A signature cocktail for the couple of the evening. We love the name!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
39
An Evening Of Romance

The couple’s reception style was uber romantic.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
40
I’m In Love With You

“We danced to ‘In Love With You’ by Erykah Badu featuring Stephen Marley,” says Diarra. “I love Erykah Badu and Miles eats and sleeps reggae so the song felt like a good fit for us. Its very sultry and melodic. Our first dance was choreographed by our friend Ameenah Kaplan.”

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
41
Cake Time

A lovely cake for a lovely couple.

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
42
Jammin’

“We had a spoken word poem performed by our friend Iona Morris and David Dean Bottrell who does the best one man show in LA,” says Diarra. “An absolute high light of the wedding was the R&B a cappella medley performed by some of our friends from NYU. They did a mash-up of ‘Pony’, “The Ignition Re-Mix”, ‘Whatta Man’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Black and White’. It was so fun. Everybody was jamming.””

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
43
Throw It Up

Cutest bouquet toss photo ever!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio
44
Congrats To You

Join us as we congratulate Diarra and Miles on their nuptials. Leave the happy couple a little comment love below. Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Email us now!

Bridal Bliss: Diarra and Miles’ California Wedding
The Amber Studio

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