Maybe Hadi Partovi could use his sword or hammer to slay AI slop.
The co-founder of CodeAI, the computer science education platform that rebranded from Code.org earlier this year, is sharing video and images from his summer wedding, and it’s “100% real, no AI,” he says in a LinkedIn post.
It’s a smart disclaimer to add on social media, because the Viking-themed wedding to Becca Oystila appears unbelievable enough to be considered AI-generated — especially in an age where every other thing we scroll past is presumably touched by the tech.
Partovi told GeekWire it’s a statement about both AI’s advances and the work of Booka, the marketplace of beauty and events professionals started by Oystila.
“AI has gotten so good that people can hardly tell the difference from reality,” Partovi said via email. “And meanwhile, the Booka team delivers cinema-quality looks, which is why they have been chosen by Billboard, Soho House, and the Gold Gala as the beauty partner of choice for events.”
To build out the July nuptials in Oystila’s native Sweden, the couple transformed the historic island of Birka — home to the remains of an authentic Viking settlement — into a fully functioning village, circa 826 A.D., according to The Information.
Partovi said the setup featured 200 “villagers” acting as merchants, armorers, goat herders, and a blacksmith, alongside Swedish Viking experts and actors from Netflix’s “The Last Kingdom.” Guests were given custom hand-aged gold and silver coins — which Partovi personally aged himself — to spend on period attire, weapons, or jewelry throughout the island.
“Becca deserves the credit for suggesting a Viking theme,” Partovi said. “And once she said that, the rest of the story wrote itself. Of course the longships and the battle were my idea.”
To keep the immersive experience intact, the couple enforced a strict no-phones policy once guests stepped onto the island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Our goal was to make it the most authentic / immersive Viking experience created in history, and so the reason we had a phone library is because the Vikings didn’t have phones,” Partovi said. “We requested guests leave behind anything modern other than prescription glasses.”
Guests who didn’t dress authentically were provided alternate clothes. Professionals booked through Booka provided appropriate hair-braiding and face-painting. Some behind-the-scenes footage made this Instagram video.
When guests handed their phone in at the phone library, they received a Viking horn for drinking and a pouch of currency for use in the village. Partovi said even the few cameras on site were disguised for the sake of authenticity.
The guest list included prominent tech founders, executives, and venture capitalists, including Partovi’s twin brother and Neo CEO Ali Partovi; Rover co-founder Aaron Easterly; Sequoia Capital’s Alfred Lin; investor and former Snapchat executive Emily White; and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (Partovi’s cousin).
Partovi and Oystila started dating in April 2024 and got engaged in August 2025.
Oystila is founder and CEO of Booka, a Los Angeles-based beauty platform that connects clients with vetted, top beauty professionals and provides them with tools to manage and grow their businesses. Oystila said the 2-year-old startup is now launching nationwide and bringing its events concept and corporate events to the public across the country.
The Viking wedding wasn’t the only event that weekend in July. A second, traditional Persian ceremony was held in the Hall of Mirrors at the Stockholm Grand Hotel.
“That ceremony was followed by a reception in the large Winter Garden decorated in the style of the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis, transitioning to the architecture from Isfahan and Shiraz, mixed with peacocks, fountains, and fires to celebrate Hadi’s Persian culture,” Oystila wrote on Instagram.
Partovi, who lives in Bellevue, Wash., founded Code.org in 2013 alongside his brother. Its mission is to expand computer science education to K-12 students, and in June the Seattle-based nonprofit announced its name change and that AI was replacing coding as the primary focus. Partovi is also CEO of Payam Music, a Bothell, Wash.-based piano school that he planned to expand nationally.
Asked whether he was considering keeping the braided mohawk hairstyle from his Viking look, which also included a skull “tattoo,” Partovi laughed and said no.
“My blue contact lenses and mohawk were for the day only,” he said. “I grew my beard out for six months for this!”
