Chic and glamorous, Elly + Ryan’s ballroom and black-tie wedding was a deliciously ruffled and elaborate affair. With a vision of creating a space that felt like a dream, this Houston wedding accomplished just that with crystal chandeliers, loads of white drapery and an inviting array of all white roses, peonies and orchids…So much rich texture, and it just keeps appearing throughout this entire wedding. From the chic ‘Sofre’ or spread of food and decorations of the couple’s Persian wedding ceremony…to the detailing of Elly’s Melissa Sweet gown, Nastaran, as well as her stunning Dalia MacPhee bridesmaid’s gowns. All beautifully draped and gathered, with an abundance of curly-edged ruffles. Enjoy!
Elly + Ryan | June 30, 2012 | Hotel Zaza, Houston, Texas | Dress Listing: Melissa Sweet, Nastaran
The Ceremony
Our ceremony took place in the phantom ballroom of Hotel Zaza. The room was re-created to look like a dream, with all the walls completely covered with white draping. The ceremony area was a traditional Persian Sofreh located under a floral chuppah that was adorned with white roses and orchids. The aisle had white pedestals with flower centerpieces of peonies and roses leading up to the Sofreh (Persian wedding spread, see sofrehchic.com for more info). Two ceremonies took place, including a Christian ceremony with a minister and a traditional Persian ceremony following.
The Reception
While the guests enjoyed cocktail hour in the chic area outside of the ballroom, the phantom ballroom was flipped into the reception area. A diamond shaped white dance floor had four royal tables on each side of the “diamond”, with the rest of the (round) tables on each side of those. Giant floral centerpieces of roses, hydrangeas, and peonies sat atop crystal chandeliers on most of the tables, and two at a time were connected to each other with crystal on the royal tables. The entertainment of the reception included an electric violin player (that was the life of the wedding!), a six-piece Persian band, a Persian DJ, and another DJ spinning every kind of music imaginable, so that the guests had a fair share of the music that they might like. The reception was full of energy, and the dancing only stopped for a brief moment during dinner hour, and continued until after two in the morning.
Elly’s Dress Search
I always knew I wanted something big and flowy on the bottom, but a few changes to what i imagined were also made. I didn’t think I would ever wear a fitted dress that went down past my hips. I didn’t realize that if the flare part of the dress starts too early (with my figure anyway), it was not as flattering on me than if I chose something that elongated my torso a bit more. I only discovered that once I started trying on dresses! Once I figured that out, picking out a dress became much easier.
How Elly Felt in Her Wedding Dress
Dreamy-Beautiful-Glamorous
Why Elly Decided to Sell Her Wedding Dress
I am an incredibly sentimental person – I save everything you can imagine. But this dress is so beautiful that it actually hurts me to think that it should just sit there. I thought about getting a giant frame to showpiece the dress, but I just don’t have the space for it. It is so beautiful that I really do think that someone else should enjoy it like I did. I have never received so many compliments on anything. My patients see my wedding pictures when they come into my office, and the very first thing out of all of their mouths is how beautiful my dress looked. I am so happy with my decision – I can only hope others feel that way too!
