REAL WEDDINGS
R
yan Kelley really knows
how to set a scene. For
Sunny Shokrae’s 29th bir th-
day, a year a f ter they star ted
dating, he swept her away to
Morocco, where a camel r ide
led to a moonlit proposal on
the dunes. The artsy couple’s
choice for a wedding venue
was equally impressive: the
Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los
Angeles, a newly restored
Spanish Gothic homage to old Holly wood with glittering murals
and a three-stor y-high vaulted ceiling.
For the night’s first act, the pair treated their 238 friends and
family to tea and Persian sweets (a nod to Sunny’s Iranian
heritage) in the grand lobby, before ever yone took their red-velvet
seats in the theater. The crowd went wild when Sunny walked
down the aisle to join Ryan on stage for the ceremony. Next, party-
goers moved to the opulent foyer to dine on halibut with kaffir lime,
watch performances by traditional Arabic and Iranian dancers,
and get their groove on to Persian and Top 40 tunes. “We skipped
our first dance because ever yone was already having so much
fun!” says Sunny. For the grand finale, late-nighters went up to
the Presidential Suite at midnight for a bash that raged till 6 a.m.
Says the bride, “It was an insane party from beginning to end.”THE COUPLE Sunny Shokrae,
31, photographer, and Ryan
Kelley, 34, media producer
THE WEDDING At the Theatre
at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles
on May 3, 2014
HOW THEY MET Through
a mutual friend at a park
in Brooklyn
THE PROPOSAL On a sand
dune in Morocco
HONEYMOON Minimoon in
Big Sur, CaliforniaThe ceremony included
Western and Persian
traditions, like the sofreh
aghd, a spread of food
and symbolic items.Sunny’s lush
bouquet and
glam Alexander
McQueen heels
were fitting
for the ornate
surroundings.Gold flatware and
ruby napkins added
color to the long
reception tables.“The theater is
so dramatic
that we barely
had to decorate,”
says Sunny.476 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 BRIDES.COMCAKE IN THE LOOK: JOHN LAWTON; OTHER STILL LIFE: CATHY CRAWFORD, STYLING BY RENEE YAN