Sarah Polgar and Ayad Al-Shaikh

Tilden Park in the Berkeley, Calif. hills was the setting for the outdoor wedding of Sara Elisabeth Polgar and Ayad Al-Shaikh of Santa Clara, Calif. on September 18. Sun broke through the morning fog  just minutes before the 11 am ceremony, which was followed by a luncheon in the adjacent Brazil Room.

The bride is the daughter of former Newtown residents Dr and Mrs Leslie G. Polgar, now of Lafayette, Calif. She was graduated from Watchung Hills High School in Warren, N.J. and received her bachelor of science degree in biology from Stanford University in 1996. She is currently a product manager at GeneMachines in Redwood City, Calif.

Mr Al-Shaikh, the son of Mr and Mrs Abdul Rahman Al-Shaikh of Los Altos, Calif., earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He is employed as an engineering manager at Applied Materials in Santa Clara.

Among the couple’s attendants were the bride’s brother and sister-in-law, Dave Polgar and Valerie Wolfe of Albany, Calif. Unexpectedly joining the wedding party at the last minute was 2½-year-old Moses Wolfe Polgar.

The bride wore a simple floor-length white gown selected by her father, the groom wore a dark suit and shirt selected by the bride, and the attendants wore dresses or suits of their own choice.

The wedding was conducted by the Rev Margot Campbell Gross, minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco.

The newly-weds enjoyed a two-week honeymoon along the Amalfi coast in Italy, and are now at home in Santa Clara with their new cat, Magellan.