On the evening of October 8, 2020 Vanessa said “hi” to Lara on hinge. They exchanged negative covid tests & met 4 days later.

Starting a relationship during lockdown was a queer couple’s nesting dream. On their second date, Lara flexed her culinary skills by making guacamole for dinner and told Vanessa she wasn’t allowed to see anyone else. As they quickly got to know one another, they realized they had a shared love for fresh spices, mezcal and social justice. They started a noise band called the “Lesbian Lizards” which has yet to debut.

Several months into dating Lara was invited to perform at the Larnaca Biennale in Cyprus. Vanessa rush-renewed her passport, and so began the couple’s life of cross-continental travel in the name of art. On this particular trip they wound up at a remote artist residency in the small mountain village of Treis Elies, where they rescued a one-eyed cat named Jack.

In 2021 they marched for Palestine in Downtown Los Angeles for the first time as a couple. As you may know, Vanessa is half-Palestinian and Lara has studied, lived and worked in the region. The duty each felt to the Palestinian cause drew them closer—and they began dreaming up ways to harness their experiences and skills to instigate cultural change. One year later, in 2022, our duo mixed love, work and activism to co-found For Your Viewing Pleasure.

In the late summer of 2023 Vanessa and Lara decided to create a residency for themselves and took off to the Mexican fishing village of Chacala. On the secluded Beach of Caves, Lara asked Vanessa to film her swimming through the waves with fabric art pieces trailing behind. As the two lay on the beach exhausted, she proposed to Vanessa, who was caught completely off guard and asked if Lara was sure. (She was.)

One month later, the 77-year ethnic cleansing of Palestine was accelerated into unabashed genocide. Needless to say the period of Vanessa and Lara’s engagement has been incredibly sad, and neither can imagine going through it without the other to hold. They are also grateful for having met many of you through the organizing and activism of this time—friends who will be in their lives forever, and who they are honored to have present on their special day.

2025 is proving to be a flood of change and year of firsts for Lara and Vanessa. In March, they learned about the seriousness of water damage when Lara’s bidet turned into a geyser and destroyed the interior of their home. Vanessa traveled to Palestine with a mental health delegation in April—she is the first in her immediate family to return! The next month the two went to New York City for Lara’s durational performance/solo show PULSE. They are now posted up in Los Feliz with their lizard-daughter, Jinn, dreaming of how to rebuild and create a physical home for themselves to move into as newlyweds.

Vanessa and Lara are so excited to celebrate their love with everyone this September!