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.

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!

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.

a very Persian favor!

Check out this really cute favor idea from eatdrinkchic.com! PASHMAK (persian cotton candy or "fairy floss") packets are such a good idea for a favor in your sofreh as they are modern and chic yet PERSIAN! She goes through a step by step DYI tutorial on how to make them.

The pashmak comes from Pariya. They seem to have really good products and really cute packaging.

We found out about this through our friends (and fantasic wedding planners) Full Circle Eventi's blog.