Summer Formal—the bridal party will be in formalwear. Ladies should wear summer dresses or more formal, if desired, but not 'beach casual' dresses. Men should wear long pants and suit jackets or sport coats of wool, linen, or similar; ties optional but encouraged—especially bow ties!

Southern California is commonly warmest in July & August with temperatures ranging from mid-80s to high-90s on average. Though rare, it may break 100. Humidity tends to remain low, though higher in Santa Monica (ceremony) than Glendale (reception) and higher when cloud cover is present. Both ceremony & reception will be indoors with only the cocktail hour at Brandview having an outdoor focus. Their patio is shaded in certain areas, and guests will likely be able to mingle inside as well during this time. St. Monica's has some A/C but may be warmer inside than the reception venue.

The ceremony will begin promptly at 1PM. We ask all guests to arrive around 12:30PM. Keep in mind LA traffic when planning your travel. If you are staying at one of our hotel blocks or near the reception venue in Glendale, please note LA traffic on a Saturday may be 45-60 minutes or longer. The liturgy will last about an hour. For any guests who arrive early, St. Monica's also has a coffee shop onsite that's great for killing time! The Brandview Ballroom will be open to guests for a formal cocktail reception with tray passed hors d'oeuvres starting at 5:30PM. Bridal Party grand entrance will be around 6:30PM and dinner will be served around 7:00. With the ceremony ending around 2PM, we wanted to allow ample time for guests to travel from Santa Monica to Glendale for the reception to begin at 5:30PM.

St. Monica has an underground parking garage as well as an above ground lot that is handicap accessible. Both are free to guests. In either case, enter from California Ave. on the south side of the campus. The garage is on the right, and the lot is on the left. Parking is free, and if the lot is full upon arrival, it can be used as a drop off for Handicap guests. Note: the side entrance of the church next to the lot is most commonly used as the main entrance of the church. The formal/front entrance of the church on California Ave. has many steps and will only be used for the bridal party entrance & exit. At the Brandview Ballroom, we are hosting prepaid valet service for all of our guests. If you valet, tipping is at your discretion. The main entrance for the hall is at the Valet, and there is an elevator to the main hall, so the drop-off should be easy for all guests. Simply pull around to the main entrance on the north side of Harvard St. to drop off your vehicle or take advantage of ridesharing apps like Uber/Lyft.

St. Monica Catholic Community is a Roman Catholic Church, and our ceremony will be a full Liturgy with Matrimonial Rites. Presently, mask & social distancing protocols are optional, and ushers will be present to direct guests to appropriate seating areas. Programs will be provided so all may follow along with the progression of the Liturgy. St. Monica's is a modern church, and modern Catholic music will be featured throughout the ceremony. All guests are encouraged to participate in the Communion Procession. If you have not been baptized in a Catholic faith, we ask you to place a hand on your heart, and the Eucaristic Ministers will be happy to offer you a blessing. If you are Catholic (Latin or otherwise) or Orthodox in good standing with the faith, you may receive Communion. Please note, at this time only the Host is being distributed and must be received in the hand. All are welcome in this place, and we look forward to sharing this celebration together. As these protocols change, we will update this FAQ section.

Yes! While we initially anticipated an adults-only reception due to COVID-19, we are at present able to extend invitations to children of our invited guests, if desired. We cannot guarantee high chairs or kids meals at the reception, and all children will be seated with their parents (i.e. there will not be a 'kids table'). If you have children you would like to bring with you on your trip but not have them attend the reception, please contact Destination Sitters to arrange for day-of childcare with trained and certified caregivers at your hotel. All unvaccinated adult guests are required to obtain a negative COVID test within 3 days of our event and wear a mask during the ceremony and reception. We understand the difficulty of these protocols for young children and ask parents to make "best efforts", particularly with masks for children ages 2 and older.

The ceremony should conclude around 2PM, and the reception hall will be open at 5:30PM. After the ceremony, the Wedding Party will be taking photos with close relatives at the church. For reference, Brandview Ballroom is about 25 miles from St. Monica and average traffic usually means a 45-60 minute drive. Allowing time for pictures after the ceremony in addition to LA traffic, there will not be too much time in between the ceremony and reception. Each of the hotels on the Travel Details page are within 1 mile of the reception venue, so you're welcome to go back to your hotel and freshen up in between the two events. If you do have extra time and want some great pictures, we highly recommend Palisades Park, Santa Monica pier, or the Americana Mall, but don't miss cocktail hour at the Brandview :) We look forward to seeing you at our ceremony and reception. We will be offering a large spread of food for the evening and recommend not eating in-between the ceremony and reception so you can come hungry and enjoy everything the Brandview has to offer.

Due to COVID, there are no shuttles from the hotels to/from the ceremony and reception. Given the time in between the ceremony ending around 2PM and reception opening at 5:30PM, we encourage guests staying near the reception venue to drop cars off at home or hotel and leverage ridesharing apps like Uber/Lyft to maximize enjoyment for the evening. Additionally, valet service will be available at the reception venue to make arriving and leaving more convenient.

Brandview Ballroom is a large event space on the 2nd floor of their address. They have an entry foyer with elevator to the main floor and cocktail hour will be hosted on their balcony terrace. At this time, masks are required when not eating or drinking for unvaccinated guests. Wine, beer, and a signature cocktail will be served during happy hour with light hors d'oeuvres on the terrace as well as inside the rear section of the ballroom to the main bar. The main ballroom will open with the grand entrance, and Middle Eastern mezza (appetizers) will be on the table. Cold mezza (hummus, pita, olives, cheese, etc.) will be available immediately and hot mezza (falafel, kibbeh, etc.) will be served as they are cooked fresh. Once the ballroom is revealed, Open Bar will be available for the remainder of the evening up to one hour before the event ends to ensure folks drive home safely. Mezza and dinner will likely be family style. Dinner will include many additional dishes beyond the hot & cold mezza, including Middle Eastern shish kabob, chicken, fish, pasta, and sides of rice. There will be speeches during dinner, followed by dancing with a DJ. There will also be a photobooth available for folks to memorialize the celebration. Wedding cake will be cut later in the evening, followed by a coffee & tea station with dessert. The evening will conclude around 1:30AM. We have a full reception planned to celebrate and look forward to seeing everyone there!

The Brandview's Middle Eastern cuisine is intended to accomodate a large range of dietary needs. Many appetizers should fit into vegetarian/vegan diets and others will be gluten-free. We encourage guests to ask the waitstaff if clarifications are needed for any specific dishes.

We have a strict guest list due to COVID and we ask that you only RSVP for those individuals included on your invite. If your invitation includes a 'guest', please include their name when RSVPing so we can plan accordingly.

We want everyone to enjoy the ceremony as much as possible, so please refrain from video recording, flash photos, or excessive photography during this time. We've hired professional photographers to capture the day, including guests, so we ask you to be respectful while they work to ensure they can capture everything. You're welcome to preserve the memories, but also we encourage you to live in the moment! As for the reception, feel free to capture as many photos as you like, while respecting our photographers. Just be sure to include us on any wedding posts by tagging us both on Instagram (@ktschmitzy & @gabriel.elias.sayegh.jr) and use the wedding hashtag #AboutTimeToSayegh so we can keep track of all your pictures after the wedding! There will also be a photobooth set-up for a portion of the evening if folks want to take additional photos.

Feel free to take home any individual flowers or wine bottle centerpieces in the center of each table. These bottles represent some of Katie & Gabriel's memories enjoying wine together during their courtship. There are even a few 'Easter Egg' bottles sprinkled throughout which represent memories made with specific guests. We encourage you to examine these and enjoy reading the memories as well as to take them home if desired—particularly if you are featured in them!

You will be missed! We completely understand if you cannot make it to our wedding. Please let us know as soon as possible by RSVPing 'no' so we can plan accordingly.

We will comply with all government, CDC, and venue guidelines when it comes to ensuring our guests' safety. We request a photo vaccination record for each guest in your party. If you have questions about this process or feel you will be unable to receive a vaccine before our wedding and still want to attend, please use the "Leave a Message" section of the RSVP page to indicate you agree to take a COVID test in the 3 days leading up to the event and wear a mask throughout. We ask for your flexibility when it comes to guest count, distancing, masks, etc. to make sure everyone feels safe attending. As soon as we have more details on what the event will look like in this respect, we will let you know. Make sure to subscribe on the homepage to give us your email information. For a full list of the guidelines in place at the present time, please refer to the COVID Guidelines section.