Yara Hokayem Creative ConceptsYara Hokayem

Events × Hospitality
Creative direction,
design & production

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Yara Hokayem

About Me

I create experiences where food, place & emotion meet.

For the past ten years I’ve been leading my family business, Arnaoon Village, a hilltop hospitality destination in Lebanon, designing and producing large-scale weddings, private events and immersive dining moments.

Yara at Arnaoon Village

Selected

My Work

  1. 01Weddings→
  2. 02Private Events→
  3. 03Retreats→
  4. 04Festivals→
  5. 05Hotel→
  6. 06Restaurant→
01

Weddings

Weddings and I go back a long way. I started coordinating weddings at our family business at sixteen; at eighteen I was trusted to run the whole department.

Alongside university I managed Arnaoon’s wedding venue, and then began designing and planning weddings of my own there.

Weddings are a series of small forevers.

Wedding guest
Aerial view of the venue

The venue I managed

The Wedding Venue

60+weddings
coordinated
per season

A destination wedding venue with several locations and settings across one property, managed hand in hand with its accommodation.

Weddings

Conceptualized & planned

First dance
Candlelit tables
Lebanese table setting
Long table under string lights

Mood

Candlelit wedding

Bride and groom on the stairs
Bride and groom at the gate
Bride and groom at sunset
Candlelit wedding tables
Candle centrepieces
Candlelit tables

Table design

From 3D to Reality

Every set starts as a render, light, scale and flow resolved before the first table goes in. Then it is built, piece by piece, to match.

3D render

Reality

3D render
The set as built
3D render
The set as built
3D render
The set as built
3D render
The set as built

Designed around a live orchestra for the bridal entrance.

Violinists on the stairs
The couple under the fireworks
First dance

Experience

A night for the books

Watch the wedding trailer →
Wedding moment
Wedding moment

Atmosphere

Enchanted garden

A ceremony beneath a hanging garden of greenery and candles, flowing into dinner across the old stone terraces.

Trailer →
Ceremony under hanging greenery
Enchanted garden wedding
Enchanted garden wedding
Enchanted garden wedding
Enchanted garden wedding

Storytelling

A concept rooted in place

a Lebanese wedding at heart

Lebanese Oriental Night creative direction. A love letter to Lebanon: old street signs, vintage soda crates, red-draped tables and a long Lebanese feast.

Habibi St table sign
Lebanese table setting

Creative direction

Lebanese Oriental design

Lebanese Oriental Night detail
Lebanese Oriental Night detail
Lebanese Oriental Night detail
Lebanese Oriental Night detail
Lebanese Oriental Night
Lebanese Oriental Night
Lebanese Oriental Night
Lebanese Oriental Night

Wedding branding

Storytelling through stationery

Red envelope invitation
Travel-ticket invitation
Postcard
Photo postcard
Manakish St sign
Bizri St sign
Luggage tag
Sticker
Sticker
Sticker
Sticker
Sticker
Sticker

Signs · Luggage tag · Stickers

On the day

A Timeless Day

Venue at night
Dancing
Wedding dinner

Palette

Colour as concept

a Mediterranean peach palette

Couple at the dinner table
First dance
Aerial view of the dance floor

Award-winning concept for an intimate wedding

Intimate Wedding

View the concept →
Long table under string lights
Table on the terrace at night
02

Private Events

Performers in red

NYE
2025

Midnight at Gatsby’s

Hosted an exclusive guest list-only NYE party for friends. Guests must follow the dress code to enter.

Guests behind the velvet curtain
Midnight at Gatsby’s DJ booth
Champagne and candelabra
Guest in a tuxedo
NYE guests
NYE guests
Table details
Grazing table
Dessert table
Chandelier and dance floor
Guest on stage
DJ booth

Private Event, three days

30th Birthday

a three-day birthday & homecoming party

Guests at the party
Party moment
Party moment

30th Birthday

Day 1

Homecoming welcome & Arabian Night

Fire dancer at the Arabian Night

30th Birthday, Arabian Night

Arabian Night
Arabian Night
Arabian Night
Arabian Night
Arabian Night
Arabian Night
Arabian Night

30th Birthday

Day 2

Infernio celestial dinner, followed by a rave

Celestial dinner
The rave
Celestial rave

Celestial rave

Dancer
Guest at the rave
DJ set

30th Birthday

Day 3

The connection & recovery day

Group on the stairs
By the pool
Wellness session
Sharing circle

In the press

Read the article written about this event

On film

Watch the video

03

Retreats

Wellness

Co-Founded and hosted a transformational wellness retreat.

Watch the reel →
Two women embracing at the retreat
Retreat
Retreat
Retreat
Retreat

Wellness Retreat

True transformations

04

Festivals

Christmas Village

Designed and project-managed Arnaoon’s Christmas Village, a multi-zone winter festival across the property.

Designed
Project-managed

Arnaoon Christmas Village poster
Santa in his house
Christmas car
Christmas wreath

Aegis

Festival

Project managed Aegis Festival, a 3-day electronic music festival founded by my brother at Arnaoon.

Aegis Festival crowd
Aegis stage
Aegis DJ
05

Hotel

Arnaoon Village, hotel rooms creative direction

Hotel room
Hotel room
Hotel room
Hotel room
Hotel room
Hotel room
@byoutarnaoon →
06

Brickhouse

Restaurant

Culinary meets art.

Founded a Christmas pop-up restaurant in Beirut and Arnaoon.

Dining inside a gallery.
Shop what you like, and eat your way through it.

@thebrickhouselb →
Brickhouse interior
Brickhouse lounge
Wine wall
Plate illustration
Dish served at the table
Cutlery on a plate
Plate illustration on red

Brickhouse, Part 01

The Furniture

Dining inside a gallery.

Shop what you like.

Gallery dining room
Gallery dining room
Gallery dining room

Brickhouse, Part 02

The Food

Eat your way through it.

Culinary meets art.

Brickhouse dish
Brickhouse dish
Brickhouse dish

CULINARY X ART

Brickhouse food and team