The Persian "Royal Wedding" of 2011

This year was the year of the Royal Wedding(s). First there was England's William & Katherine. And then the US had it's own sort of American Royal wedding when Kim Kardashian & her husband Kris wed. And finally, we at "Sofreh Atelier" were involved in an Iranian Royal Wedding!

This was the wedding of Saranaz & Chris which took place at the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown, DC. Our lovely bride Sara is a relative of Iran's royal family the Pahlavis. With the queen Farah Pahlavi, her son Reza Pahlavi and his wife Yasmine as the witnesses to the aghd ceremony, this wedding was truly special. And it was very fitting for the bride and her sweet mom Ladan to request a very traditional Persian Sofreh Aghd. We had a great time designing it and seeing their reaction. It was also a great pleasure to work with photographer extraordinaire Clay Blackmore of Clay & Co. who incidentally shot the wedding of Kardashian mom Kris to her husband Bruce Jennar 20 years ago! Here are some of the pictures him and his team took of the Sofreh and ceremony!

Venue: Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, DC
Florist: Multiflor
DJ: Exclusively Entertainment
MC: Iman Huschmand

Lastly, it was such a pleasure to work with Four Seasons' Tina Nader & David Anderson. Thanks guys for always making our job so much easier!

Gold & Coral Sofreh Aghd

So here's another one of this summer's sofrehs. We tend to have a lot of bi-cultural weddings; where either the bride or the groom isn't Persian. These tend to be a lot of fun for us because the non-Persian side is always fascinated with the Sofreh Aghd and it's symbolism.

For this particular wedding, we had the pleasure of working with Sarah. Sarah, an American bride marrying a Persian, was in every way the ideal client and we loved working with her! Sarah wanted a gold tone Sofreh and her flowers were coral to match the bridesmaids dresses. This wedding took place over memorial weekend at the Alexandria Hilton. Congrats Sarah & Kamran!

Florist- Bloom Fresh flowers
Videography- Buerhaus Design
Photography- Anne Lord

Here's a VIDEO highlight of their wedding.

Omni wedding- professional pictures

As promised, we are so excited to share with you Kimya and Brian's professional wedding photos. Anne and Bill of Holland Photo Arts are a husband and wife photography team whose talent is extraordinary. Their name is so befitting as every photograph they snap is not just an image but art. Anyway, we'll let the pictures speak for themselves.







and the details... (we LOVE details!)





finally, how could we end this post without showing off some of the hard work and talent of EVOKE at the rest of the wedding?!







Event planner: Jodi Moraru of Evoke DC
Venue & Catering: Omni Shoreham
Photography: Holland Photo Arts
Photo Booth: SnapHappy Studio by Holland Photo Arts
Florist: Philippa Tarrant
Make-up Artist: Nour Kazoun
Hair styling: Remona Soleimani
Video: Suburban Video
Lighting: Atmosphere Lighting
Gown: Judd Waddell
Cake: Maggie Austin
Groom’s Cake & Cupcakes: Fancy Cakes by Leslie
Reception music: Source band

Fabulous Sofreh Aghd at the Omni!

On Saturday May 21st, we had the pleasure of doing the Sofreh Aghd of Kimya and Brian at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC. Though we didn't have the pleasure of meeting the couple before the wedding, we worked with Kimya's amazing mom Susan to make this happen. This family wanted a traditional Sofreh Aghd set on a champagne base fabric with accent colors of purple/navy, white and green. This event was grandiose on every level yet still very classy and elegant. The sofreh was set in the garden of the hotel with the beautifully decorated gazebo as the background. The talented Philippa Tarrant did her magic with flowers... her arrangements are breathtaking! As always, it was a pleasure to work with Jodi and the rest of her team at EVOKE! They put on a spectacular wedding. Will be sure to post the professional photos as soon as we have them!

ps getting sunburn on our backs from working in the sun all day was totally worth it!

Persian Wedding photographer- Moshe Zusman

As you know, from time to time we showcase our favorite vendors. So here's a post we've been meaning to do for a long time.

Persian weddings have a lot of details and customs that are so beautiful. When choosing a photographer, one must be sure he or she is familiar with these rituals in order to make sure the precious moments are captured. If you're having a Persian wedding, the talented Moshe Zusman is the man to hire to capture it. His photography is so artistic and edgy. Check out his Blog post specifically for Persian Weddings!

and here are some more of his pictures!

eat a piece of Art

Oh goodness gracious! check out these cakes by local bakery Maggie Austin Cake! Almost too pretty to eat until you think, "I bet it tastes as good as it looks!" Truly haute couture!

Haft Seen for IACC!

Greetings,

Excited about Norooz yet? We are! We love the Persian New Year and love being part of the different events celebrating Norooz around DC. This year we did the Haft Seen for the Iranian-American Community Center's "Persian New Year Family Celebration". This event took place at the beautiful Westwood Country Club. For more info about the IACC and this event, check out their BLOG

And here are a few pictures of the Haft Seen:

Upcoming event for engaged couples!

Hey DC area brides & grooms to be! The following would be a great event for you to attend:

Sunday, March 6 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm

Location

Willard InterContinental Washington, St. Regis Hotel, & Hay-Adams
Created By
Engaged! Magazine, Erika Paola Gutierrez
More Info
Three luxury wedding venues in one evening: The Willard Hotel, the St. Regis Hotel, and the Hay-Adams.

Travel by limo buses to each hotel, visit with the best of the best wedding professionals, hear bands play, sip champagne by Moet, ooh and aah at gorgeous bridal fashion.

Don't delay in buying your ticket - be eligible for 20 days of fabulous prize drawings prior to the show!

For more info, www.engagedmagazine.com

To purchase tickets please go to: http://engagedmagazine.eventbrite.com/

A signature Modern "Sofreh Aghd" in paradise

Around two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of doing a one-of-a-kind Sofreh for Gisel and Omid Kordestani on the Island of St Barts. From the moment we heard from the well-known San Francisco based event designer Robert Fountain about this wedding, we knew it would be such a special experience. And we were so honored to be chosen to be a part of it! Our sweet bride and groom wanted a very upscale, modern Sofreh Aghd that was still complete in tradition and symbolism. They also wanted to be sure that their Sofreh had pops of color (red, orange, green and purple) without it being too overwhelming. And so, even though we had a very short time to put this together, it was such a fun project and we loved the challenge!

Situated inside a pool in a very modern Villa that was overlooking the ocean, this unique Sofreh Aghd included a pair of amazing Baccarat crystal candelabras and a vintage modern-style venetian mirror. The mixture of our traditional silver dishes with our handmade modern symbols, crystal and glass, set the perfect tone for this Persian/French destination wedding. And the custom made flower arrangements made it complete and perfect! Congratulations to the lovely couple! We were so pleased to be able to see your reaction and be a part of your beautiful day.