Taylor and Aaron Thompson had a spontaneous wedding at The Emerald of Siam on February 1, 2025.
Across February, love was in the air in Tri-Cities. The entire month featured a variety of events, from romantic dinners for couples to speed dating.
February is also a lovely time to get married. You’re not quite at the busy season for weddings yet, but enough time has passed since the winter holidays.
The first two weekends in February saw two weddings at The Emerald of Siam, a restaurant and venue in Richland’s Uptown Shopping Center.
On the first day of the month, Aaron and Taylor Thompson were married at The Emerald of Siam. According to owner Dara Quinn, the ceremony was completely spontaneous. The couple brought their own officiant, and two Emerald servers were recruited as witnesses.
A week later, Christian and Teresa Iturriaga got married at The Emerald. They had coordinated with Quinn three days prior. Although a photo from the Thompson wedding had been posted to The Emerald’s social media accounts, the Iturriagas had not seen the post, and reached out to Quinn completely independently.
In a recent interview, Christian Iturriaga said he’s known Quinn for about six or seven years, and the couple had recently come to the decision to get married on their first anniversary. After some discussion, they decided The Emerald was the perfect place to do it.
While The Emerald can be rented out for special occasions, both couples opted for ceremonies during regular business hours.
Quinn said that, to her knowledge, seven weddings have been held at The Emerald of Siam across their forty-two years of business. Just recently, two Emerald employees, Dylan and Sarah, got married at the venue in November.
The Emerald has also seen “multiple proposals and first dates,” according to Quinn. One couple came in recently for their thirtieth anniversary, after having their first date at The Emerald of Siam when Quinn’s mother, Ravadi, was still running the show.
But two weddings just one week apart is something rare.
The Iturriagas described their wedding day as “perfect” in a recent phone interview. Both in their 40s, the couple got married on their one-year anniversary. But they’ve known each other much longer than that, and have been in each other’s lives for over three decades.
“We’ve known each other for so long that there are no secrets,” Christian Iturriaga said during the interview. “We know that we fit together perfectly.”
The couple said their love story had been years in the making, that they had both been searching for the right person through years of friendship together.
“It just took us a while to realize, ‘It’s you,’” Teresa Iturriaga said.
Once they decided they would get married on their first anniversary, the Chilean couple had to start planning. They said they wanted a small, cozy venue for their wedding ceremony, something with a familiar atmosphere, where they and their guests could feel comfortable.
They’ll be holding a big party in Chile with their family and friends later on, so this ceremony was all about them. The Iturriagas injected their personalities into their wedding plans.
Christian Iturriaga is a frequent patron of The Emerald of Siam. He follows a handful of regional bands that perform there, including Los Caipirinhos and Bad Habit. On top of knowing Quinn for several years, he’s a big fan of the venue. The couple loves live music and the punk scene, so they said The Emerald “felt right.”
They had a small ceremony, with only about 20 people there in person. The Emerald of Siam provided an ideal space for their ceremony, even offering the stage area to the Iturriagas. The couple had a handful of friends and family on Zoom, watching from across the country and around the world. Using the stage gave everyone the best view of the ceremony.
The Iturriagas said Quinn was very accommodating and was willing to help them execute their plans for the day. They followed the ceremony with food and drinks, complete with a traditional toast.
“We’re really grateful to Dara for allowing us to do that,” Christian Iturriaga said. “The Emerald will have a special place in our hearts forever.”
The couple said they highly recommend The Emerald for any events, calling it the “perfect place for any kind of gathering.”
Karlee Van De Venter is a full-time reporter at the Tri-City Herald who contributes Arts and Entertainment coverage for Tumbleweird. Through a co-publication agreement, this content may also appear in the Herald. For more local music coverage, follow @KarleeVNews on Instagram.
