We just shot Neil and Kelly in Newport for three days and I knew while shooting this that it would be three separate blog entries — there was so many wonderful things to cover, I couldn’t possibly edit it down to one entry.  So here goes but first, thank you Neil and Kelly, to you and your families for making us feel so welcome!

The Persian ceremony and rehearsal dinner was held Friday night in a tent at Kelly’s Dad’s house in Rhode Island.

The focus of the tent is the Sofreh table and it was beautifully decorated with symbolic items.  Neil’s family, who weren’t local, brought items from all over to decorate for the ceremony. 

During the ceremony, Neil and Kelly will sit in beautiful chairs passed down through Neil’s family for generations.  The chairs will then become a part of their home.

Neil pre-ceremony:

Fans kept guests cool pre-ceremony:

The dancing begins…

All the guests gather round Neil and Kelly and the table.  The officiant leads the ceremony but the families are very involved, making it a really warm experience.

Kelly sits at the table with her step-dad, Jon, looking on:

It is tradition that the bride receives gifts of jewelry and more as part of the ceremony…and the groom receives a few gifts too!  Here are Neil’s parents:

Neil gave Kelly a beautiful necklace:

Neil trying on Kelly’s earrings!

Neil and his brother and best man, Sean:

Neil’s grandmother:

Kelly’s dad signing the marriage certificate:

Kelly throwing the Ghand Cloth to the single ladies:

Kelly and her mom share a moment after the ceremony:

A traditional feast of kababs and more followed the ceremony and were cooked on a grill:

A few margaritas were included too!

I loved this dress on one of the guests:

It was a stunning night:

Stay tuned for Day 2 – The Christian Ceremony at Astors-Beechwood…