Daria Zotova & Kirill Gorjatsev get Married

Some people thought it would never happen, but during the first week of June, my longtime friend, former room-mate and former professional dance partner, Daria Zotova, was wed to rising star Smooth Professional dance champion, Kirill Gorjatsev.

In the beginning it meant the death of Kirill and Olga's successful partnership, and everyone in the DC area LOVES Olga, and the partnership she had with Kirill. But Daria and Kirill have had an enduring relationship together, and every dancer in the Washington area knew that overtime, something was bound to happen. The two had a romantic engagement a little over a year ago, with a wedding date set in June.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Dmitri Dolgopolov and I had the pleasure of attending Kirill's fly by night bachelor party. Who ever thought that Kirill, who is always "All so serious"
Could be so much fun? I think the pictures from Kirill's Bachelor party will have to remain private...as will the memories from Daria's Bachelorette party, hosted by Kelly Synott and attended by friends.

On the eve of their big wedding day, my partner and I joined Daria, Kirill, and their family as they decorated the upstairs ballroom in the Dance Factory. The following morning, My partner woke up in the pre-dawn hours to shuttle Daria to the Michael Anthony Salon, for first class preparations on Capital Hill. Later she shuttled Daria back to the hotel so we could commence with the long "to do" list, in wedding preparations. Some of the duties involved picking up the food and cake, table linen and decorative arrangements, and reception prep.

After a full morning of reception prep, My partner rejoined the wedding party to prepare for the traditional Russian games. The games were conducted by Daria's kid sister, who came all the way from Russia to attend the wedding. The games consisted of a riddle sequence and a scavenger hunt that took place all over the Ritz Carlton.

After the games, Kirill found Daria, the object of his hotel scavenger hunt, on the hotel's mezzanine level by the grand piano.

Daria looked so beautiful, just like a Disney princess.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m89NvEY1_dk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

We then departed from the Ritz to attend their formal garden ceremony at a scenic location in Arlington. After the ceremony, Daria and Kirill ventured off to Capital Hill for wedding photos.

I do not appear in many photos, because we worked the wedding behind the scenes.

While the wedding party went off for pictures, My partner and I went back to the studio for additional preparations for the reception... It was a lot of work! .... There were indeed some enjoyable moments in preparing the reception room, picking up the food and wedding cake. We enjoyed time with A friend who was tasked with preparing the bar area for the reception... I could tell that after a long day of work, that everyone needed a break. By the end of the reception preparations, the girls were giddy with happiness and exhaustion. There was just enough time for a cocktail break before adding final touches to the room.

The most nerve racking part of Daria and Kirill's wedding day was picking up the wedding cake. I was deathly afraid of dropping the cake, as the vendor nearly did as they boxed it for transport.

Luckily everything was in place by reception time, and the Studio never looked more beautiful. I particularly enjoyed Daria and Kirill's wedding dance ... Which that dedicated to me!!! I was shocked by that and was truly grateful.

I wish I had their wedding dance on video, it was very loving and authentic, and may remain as my fondest memory of Daria (ever).