Kelly & Ellyar’s Simple & Sweet, Pizza Party DC Wedding at Josephine Butler Parks Center

Falling behind on blogging (So what else is new?) but SOOOOOOOOOO pumped to get to relieve one of my sweetest couples from last year – Kelly & Ellyar! Ah – the crisp air, the PIZZA, and the gorgeous images from Porter Watkins – this one is totally keeping my energy up. Which, I totally need after Andy left for LA this morning for almost a WEEK, and I am already exhausted / feeling drained.

Love will keep us together? Love is the answer? Love … is love … is love … I think my brain is broken ;-p

We chose Josephine Butler Parks Center because it is beautiful and had the character we were looking for in a venue. We knew that we wouldn’t need to do much in the way of decorating. It was also close to Meridian Hill park, where we knew we wanted wedding party pictures. We chose a date in May because we wanted a day in spring that wouldn’t be too hot. Of course, it was over 90 degrees that day!

We incorporated Iranian elements into the ceremony and reception. For the ceremony, we incorporated the sugar ceremony tradition. We invited a few friends and family to hold a cloth of unity and rub sugar over our heads. This is meant to “spread sweetness” in the couple’s life! Ellyar’s dad hand picked several Iranian songs for the reception. They were probably the most popular songs of the night and got everyone dancing!

Kelly’s sisters were her maids of honor, and Ellyar’s niece and nephew were the most adorable flower girl and ring bearer. It was also important to both of us that we walk with both of our parents down the aisle.

Pizza and cupcakes for dinner! Pizza was our first date, and continues to be an important part of our relationship :). As soon as we found out that Timber Pizza catered weddings, we didn’t need to look at any other options. We ordered cupcakes from Baked and Wired, which is our favorite place in DC for cupcakes. The cupcakes couldn’t have happened without Kelly’s dad and uncle, who picked them up the morning of the wedding and made sure they made it safely to the venue. We also each picked out our favorite beer from Atlas Brew Works and had Timber Pizza serve a delicious cocktail.

We kept the DIY to a minimal! A calligrapher prepared the place cards, and a friend wrote out the pizza and cupcake flavors at the last minute. We bought some cheap frames and spray painted them to match our wedding colors. Jo, from Highway to Hill, was our florist, and she agreed to also make the welcome sign and wedding party sign. They turned out beautiful!

Kelly’s family helped assemble little bags of Compass Coffee that we gave out as party favors. We were glad Bree advised us to pick a favor that we’d be ok with having leftovers. We had coffee for months!