The Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC has always been one of my favorite “typical” DC wedding venues – the columns, the prestige, the marble floors – and as far as pricing goes, it’s actually pretty reasonable for what you get!
Anyway, Love Life Images [via Two Bright Lights] submitted this beautiful purple & gold wedding at the Carnegie Institute, and I just couldn’t resist. Jamaal & Cheree Felder just had that electric “star power” and it was a bit of a change from the weddings I had been featuring as of late.
 Jamaal & Cheree Felder’s Purple & Gold DC Wedding at the Carnegie Institution for Science
About their wedding:
We chose Carnegie Institution of Washington as the location of our wedding because of its’ architectural design and detail similar to that of Union Station DC, for example the outside columns, marble floors, and grand staircase.
 The color combination of purple (the bride’s favorite color) and gold were chosen to portray the couple’s regal and royal theme. The color combination was woven throughout the wedding from the purple invitations, programs, seat covers, table linens, bridesmaid dresses, and flowers to the coordinating gold bridesmaid’s jewelry and shoes, gold flatware, gold rimmed china, gold chargers, and gold chivari chairs. And finally not to mention the bride’s purple shoes.
Thoughts on the wedding planning:
Jamaal and I took on the responsibility of planning the wedding ourselves allowing our personalities to be displayed throughout our wedding day. However, family and friends all came together to make our wedding day special with their presence.
We really wanted them to sit, relax, and enjoy the day with us. The bridesmaids and hostesses worked together to put the final touches of the wedding together from pouring sand in vases for the sand covenant, placing wafers for holy communion, and setting up the favor table.
There were many cultural expressions showcased throughout the wedding including the jumping of the broom, which was a hand crafted straw broom elaborately decorated with faux ivory roses and ribbon.
The jumping of the broom is a Southern African American tradition of sweeping away the past and the couple entering their future together and the remembrance of slaves who were not allowed to marry.
Click inside for the rest of Jamaal & Cheree’s Washington, DC wedding by Love Life Images!
The couple furthered showcased their Southern roots by substituting traditional table numbers for the names of cities from their home states of South Carolina (groom) and Mississippi (bride) prominently displayed on the reception tables. Also the pecan bar containing cinnamon, praline, and honey covered Mississippi pecans served as our wedding favors.
 Our DIY project was our message in a bottle in lieu of a traditional guest sign in book. The message in a bottle setup included large mason jars with gold bows tied around the rimmed (applied by one of the hostesses), white card stock, pens, and the guests tied their messages with pre-cut strips of purple ribbon.
Upon arrival guests wrote their messages and placed them in the mason jars. We also provided a miniature chalkboard placed on the guest table with handwritten instructions from the groom instructing the guests to leave the couple a message.
I love this last shot in the library ~ so sweet. Congratulations Jamaal & Cheree, thank you for sharing your beautiful DC wedding with us! A special thanks to Love Life Images and Two Bright Lights for making this feature possible!
1 comment
Beautiful wedding!! Everything is gorgeous and coordinated perfectly.