Cecelia & Wasim’s Hip Modern Washington, DC Wedding

When a new message popped up in my inbox from Megan Noonan Photography, with the subject “Cecelia & Wasim’s wedding” – well, I was pumped. Cecelia & Wasim’s awesome Washington, DC art gallery engagement had made my “Best of 2011 Engagement Features“, so naturally, I knew their wedding was going to be unique, ultra-hip, and 100% them.

Cecelia confirmed my suspicions:

After getting engaged, I seriously tried to convince Wasim that we should go to the courthouse, get married, have a small dinner with family and friends, and call it a day. Wasim, however, was very adamant about having a full blown wedding. I am so very glad that I “caved in” because we had a blast.

Wasim and I said that our goal was for our guests to eat, drink, and dance well at our wedding. Personally, I wanted to make sure that in the process we stayed true to ourselves without getting locked in traditions that didn’t fit our personalities, and that we didn’t break the bank while doing so.

I mean what could be more Capitol Romance than what Cecelia said – a wedding that “stayed true to ourselves”, not “locked in traditions that didn’t fit” them and “didn’t break the bank” – I mean those are practically my commandments!

Cecelia & Wasim’s Non-traditional, Modern Wedding at the Hotel Palomar in Arlington, VA

Cecelia shares how they chose Hotel Palomar in Arlington, VA as their wedding venue:

I am a huuuuuge fan of modern art (hence my choices for the engagement session), so I was originally looking a venues with a modern and artistic vibe. Once we stepped in the Hotel Palomar, I absolutely fell in love with the theme, “Art in Motion” and the artwork. The fact that Wasim loved it and actually picked the hotel as his number one choice completely sold me on the venue. We knew we made the right decision when we had our tasting…can you say Yuuuuummy!!??

We also wanted to make sure that we could have the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception at one location since the vast majority of our guests were from out of town.

i mean have you ever seen sexier, hipper bright blue wedding shoes than Cecelia’s? love.

love her sophisticated, twist bun wedding hairstyle!

Their invitations used the cobalt blue, smokey grey, and white color palette. so modern!

And just this last peak before I make you click inside to see the rest! Cecelia went non-traditional and opted for clutches over bouquets. I have been talking about that alternative bouquet idea for ever – and am THRILLED to get to show how awesome it looks in a REAL wedding!

Click inside to see the rest of Cecelia & Wasim’s Modern, Nontraditional Washington, DC wedding by Megan Noonon Photography.

Cecelia shares why she opted for clutches over bouquets:

As a little girl, I never imagined myself walking down the aisle, much less walking down the aisle with flowers, so I decided that I would do away with the traditional bouquets and that the bridesmaids and I would carry clutches. To me they’re more practical and way better looking!

So in love with how stylish Cecelia & her bridesmaids are ~ mismatched dresses in shades of grey, blue shoes and the blue clutches? So totally hip.

love the emotion of this next image, AND i love Cecelia’s non-traditional bridal headpiece (a gorgeous veil alternative)

it doesn’t get much better than wedding ceremonies atop Hotel Palomar – this is SO gorgeous

Cecelia opted to DIY her flower arrangements – a simple, easy DIY wedding altar:

I’m not a huge fan of flowers. They are just a bit too girly for me. I do admire orchids and lilies; however, so I decided that I would stick with those. Since great food, drinks and music were the most important to us, and flowers not so much, I decided that there was no need to kill orchids and lilies just to enhance the decor, hence the artificial flowers.

Cecelia ordered the fake orchids and lilies online, and then put the arrangements together herself!

always one of my favorite shots from weddings .. the infamous “we just got married!!” picture

We had a Bajan Black Cake in honor of Wasim’s heritage since they are traditionally served at weddings in Barbados. To stay true to ourselves, we had a cookie and ice cream bar…our favorites!

Again – 100% modern & keeping with the ultra cool color scheme, metallic grey chargers, blue napkins and hints of blue lighting at the reception decor.