KL
كريم و ليلى
Together with their families
Karim&Leila
كريم و ليلى
request the honour of your presence
SAT 17 APR 202716:30
Riad Nour el Bahia · Marrakech
Until the lanterns are lit
The doors of the riad open on one evening only. This is how long the courtyard has to wait.
Ahlan wa sahlan
بارك الله لكما وبارك عليكما وجمع بينكما في خير
May you be blessed, and may all that is good be gathered between you.
A plain door on a narrow street, and behind it a courtyard with a hundred lanterns in it. We would like every one of them lit, and every one of you under them. Everything you might need is on this page — the hour, the door, and what to wear when the evening cools.
How we got here
A wrong turn in the souk
Leila was looking for a lamp-maker; Karim was lost with a phone that had given up. They argued about the direction of the Koutoubia for twenty minutes and were both wrong.
The café roof in Gueliz
A kettle that never quite boiled, four mint teas a week, and a terrace we were not really supposed to be on. We learned the call to prayer as a clock, and each other as everything else.
The question in the courtyard
The last evening of a long trip, under the fig tree, with the lanterns already lit. Karim managed five words.
The door opens for everyone
One April evening, the whole riad, and every person who got us here. That is the entire plan.
How the evening runs
The door opens
Come through into the courtyard and take a glass of mint tea. The lanterns are lit as you arrive.
The ceremony
Under the fig tree at the courtyard's centre. Short, warm, and over before the sky is fully dark.
The terrace at dusk
Up to the roof for the call to prayer and the light going off the Atlas. Wander; nothing starts without you.
Dinner in the courtyard
Long tables around the fountain, a proper Moroccan table, and speeches that will run over.
Gnawa until late
The band comes in from the square and the floor belongs to everybody until the lanterns are turned down.
Where to find us
A riad in the medina behind a plain cedar door. Cars cannot reach it — taxis stop at the square and it is a four-minute walk, lit and level, which we will have someone walk with you.
What to wear
Formal, and please be bold about it — this is a courtyard for deep colour and for anything that catches lantern light. The floors are zellige and the terrace is stone, so keep heels sensible.
These are the tones the courtyard is being dressed in, if you would like to disappear into it beautifully.
Good to know
Getting to the door
Taxis stop at the square; the last four minutes are on foot through the medina. Tell us when you are arriving and someone will meet you there.
The courtyard cools
It is warm until the sun goes and then it is not. Bring something for your shoulders — the evening runs open to the sky.
On gifts
Having you under the lanterns is the gift. If you would like to mark the day, a card on the night is more than enough.
Tell us you're coming
One small form, and then we can stop refreshing our phones.