Textile Museum Wedding by Sweet Tea Photography
Hello and happy Monday! Today, I am delighted to announce our winner of The Button Tree Company giveaway …drum roll please…hooray, LaShanda!! Please email Kristin for details!
***
Next up, an incredibly lovely wedding by Sweet Tea Photography and Anne Kelley of Atrendy Wedding at the Textile Museum . I love the simplicity of this celebration – the beautiful venue, the sperry tent, the understated decor and and the very-in-love bride and groom, Katelin and Nabeel.
From Anne…
Katelin & Nabeel’s wedding was very simplistic & charming. The highlighted the beautiful outdoor architecture of the Textile Museum by using it as the backdrop of their ceremony, framing the bride & groom just perfectly as they exchanged vows. They used different hues of blue with gray & white to tie together the looks of their reception underneath a breathtaking Sperry Tent. The personal touches included: many DIY pieces from the bride, such as the table #’s, escort cards programs and signage; also the stones that guest wrote personal messages on during cocktails, the blue & white pinwheels used for photo ops and to highlight the escort card table and the homemade wedding cake & groom’s cake made by the bride’s aunt. The simplicity of the beautiful full blue hydrangeas in mercury glass containers really popped on the navy blue tables under the tent and the night could not have been more picturesque under a clear sky and perfect late summer weather! Guests also enjoyed using lots of fun props in the photo booth all night long. The night was capped off with a grand sparkler exit outside the Textile Museum before all the guests headed to an after party in DC.
The fabulous vendor team:
Planner: Anne Kelley of Atrendy Wedding
Venue: The Textile Museum
Photography: Sweet Tea Photography
Tent: Sperry Tents
Hair and Make Up: Carly Pressley
Catering: Windows Catering
Florals and Decor: Grand Floral & Design
Ceremony Musician: NBW Productions (Harpist)
DJ: Scott Diggs of Elite Mixers Entertainment
Valet & Transportation: MarcParc
Photobooth: Booth-o-Rama
***
And, from the bride:
We first met in high school. We both attended Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, MD and by our senior year, we developed a strong friendship.
Our first date didn’t come until four years after graduating high school. Katelin recently graduated from Elon University in North Carolina and moved to Dewey Beach, DE for the summer. That same summer, Nabeel drove to Ocean City, MD to celebrate July 4th with some friends. We had not seen each other in two years, but had kept in touch, so we decided to meet up for old times sake in what we thought would be the last time before our lives went in separate directions.
When we saw each other again, we like to think it was love at second sight. We spent the entire evening together walking on the beach and catching up – before we knew it, we were sitting on the beach, hand in hand, watching the sunrise. The next night, we had a more conventional second date at one of the local seafood restaurants in Fenwick Island and the rest, of course, is history.
In December 2011, we travelled to South Africa with Nabeel’s family for his cousin’s wedding. During our three-week stay, we went on safari, dove with great white sharks, hiked Table Mountain, drove the coast, visited with Nabeel’s extended family and toured his hometown. On the last full day of our trip, we woke up and got ready for a hike of Lion’s Head Mountain in Cape Town. During the hike up, we stopped for rest and to enjoy the view of the ocean and city below. While sitting, Nabeel asked Katelin about her favorite part of the trip. While she instantly jumped to the safari, she mentioned that their other adventures were just as memorable. She then asked Nabeel the same question, but he was coy with his response. Although he said the sharks, hiking, and safari were great; none were going to be the most memorable part. “To be honest, the best part of the trip hasn’t happened yet.” And with that he pulled out a ring and asked Katelin to marry him.
The colors just fell into place. We started with navy – a wedding classic, but also one of our favorite colors. Originally, no other color seemed just right, but we continued planning. Nabeel knew he wanted to wear something other than a dress shoe, and eventually found navy and gray Sperry Top Siders. He loved this look for the groomsmen, and it seemed the perfect fit being made by Sperry, the provider of our tent! Before we knew it, there were touches of gray and silver incorporated throughout our décor. This seemed to add a modern and unique touch to the overall look.
We didn’t have to add much to make our wedding beautiful – between the gardens, the beautiful Textile Museum building, and the backdrop of Washington, DC; we already had the perfect setting. To complete our venue, we used a Sperry tent lined with twinkle lights. This added a preppy and intimate feeling to our evening wedding. We then added some details to really make the event our own – mercury glass vases, custom pinwheels, navy striped straws, and a homemade cake baked by Katelin’s aunt. We also had a photo booth and custom cornhole boards for those guests looking for a break from the dance floor. We definitely embraced some modern trends, but felt all the décor will stand the test of time with an overall classic look.
It was all about balance. In planning our wedding, we wanted it to be elegant and classic, while still being relaxed and informal. This all started with our venue –The Textile Museum provided us with an intimate outdoor space in the heart of urban DC. Every detail from that point out was chosen with that same look and feel in mind.
We both agree that having a large outdoor space was very indicative of us. We love being outdoors, and the fact that our wedding was close to home in a city that holds so many memories made it all the more special. On an individual level, Nabeel loved how the photo booth and props helped capture each of our guests and their unique personalities. For Katelin, it was our guest book. Each guest wrote a unique message on a river rock, which incorporated our outdoor theme and gave us a beautiful keepsake from the evening.
Truly our favorite memory was our first look before the wedding. We met on the Spanish Steps before the ceremony and had a few private moments to ourselves. We have such close relationships with our friends and family and love to incorporate them into the important moments of our lives. On this most special of occasions, however, we cherished that little moment where it was just us.
While we come from different backgrounds, we are fortunate to have been raised with similar values by loving families. We knew our marriage would merge our two families into one, and we wanted to ensure our wedding honored each heritage and culture, while still representing our personality as a couple. In the beginning, we went through countless scenarios before ultimately settling on two ceremonies – one capturing Nabeel’s Indian culture and Muslim customs, and the other representing Western traditions. While our love and marriage brings our two cultures together, having two ceremonies let us truly celebrate the customs and traditions of both families. We are very blessed and extremely fortunate to have family and friends that supported us through it all!
Nabeel’s sister and parents did the major planning of our Muslim ceremony (Nikkah). We gave input on location, décor, and cuisine, but Nabeel’s family helped ensure we captured all the important components of a Muslim ceremony. For Katelin, one of the best planning moments was shopping for her bridal saree. She and Nabeel’s sister went to a variety of stores trying beautiful sarees and lenghas, before settling on an eggplant-colored saree with gorgeous beading.
Planning our second ceremony at the Textile Museum was very much a team effort. Having no experience in event planning, Katelin received input, support and advice from countless family members and close friends. We started knowing that we wanted to get married in DC, we love the fall season, and Katelin knew she wanted some details like a simple wedding dress and hydrangeas. Once we found our amazing venue, it inspired the look and feel for the rest of the wedding. Our family, friends, vendors, and amazing planner then helped to ensure our vision became a reality.
Although each ceremony was different and unique, we made efforts to bridge the two events. First, as a bridesmaid gift, Katelin gave each girl a unique saree to wear for the Nikkah. Second, we had a sparkler exit for both events. We love the look of sparklers and thought it was fitting to have each reception end on the same note. We also had our wonderful photographer capture both events, which allows us to see both ceremonies through a similar lens. Finally, our ceremony officiants were very important. Our Nikkah was officiated by the same Imam who performed Nabeel’s brother’s Nikkah, and our second ceremony was officiated by the minister that married Katelin’s sister. This was just one more way to incorporate our important family relationships.
0 评论: