Step Inside the Enchanting Wedding of WCCO News Reporter Erin Hassanzadeh

by | Feb 2025

Erin and Eric Wedding

Photos: Zoe Yates Photography

A celebration of love honors the past, cherishes the present and sets up hope for a bright future.

Love in all its beautiful forms graced the union of Erin Hassanzadeh and Eric Nelson. The couple exchanged vows in a heartfelt celebration at the St. Paul College Club in October. Their wedding was a poignant and uniquely meaningful event, drawing together family and friends while lovingly honoring the memories of their late fathers, both of whom had passed away in the year prior. “This was an event for us but also for all of our friends and family,” Hassanzadeh says.

“Erin and Eric put a lot of effort and thought into what was going to be at their ceremony. One of the really hard things about that year for them was they lost their dads [Mo Hassanzadeh and Gene Nelson]. Leading up to the wedding, they were really intentional about having their fathers be a part of the wedding,” Zoe Yates says.

“Erin and Eric put a lot of effort and thought into what was going to be at their ceremony. One of the really hard things about that year for them was they lost their dads [Mo Hassanzadeh and Gene Nelson]. Leading up to the wedding, they were really intentional about having their fathers be a part of the wedding,” Zoe Yates says.

The Meet Cute

The first few chapters of their love story read like a romance novel. Nelson was attending a conference, and Hassanzadeh, then a TV news reporter in Omaha, Nebraska, was covering the event. “We ran into each other on the last day of the conference,” Nelson says. “We decided to meet for coffee the next day. Coffee turned into lunch, and lunch turned into dinner and I ended up pushing my flight back.” Thus began a three-year, long-distance relationship. Hassanzadeh moved back home to Minnesota to work for WCCO TV. Then COVID-19 started. “Rather than us being apart for some unknown amount of time, I would come out to Minnesota. I haven’t left,” Nelson says.

The Proposal

The couple’s proposal was equally meaningful, taking place during a trip with friends Kelsey Williams and Sebastian Weber to Sedona, Arizona, in 2022. While the ladies spent the day out at the spa, Nelson and Weber planned a scavenger hunt around Sedona that ended at a beautiful winery. “The winery had an old church in the backyard, and when she got to that old church, I had the ring in my back pocket and got down on one knee,” Nelson says.

Staying True

Hassanzadeh didn’t have a theme in mind for the wedding. She wanted to stay true to herself. For couples planning a wedding, she says, “It can be hard not to follow trends. Really take the time to sit and think about what you like or what you like the look of, as opposed to letting people choose for you or picking from three options or picking what’s on Pinterest. Don’t be afraid to do what you really like instead of what is really trendy at the time.”

“The photos with grandma’s car … are my favorites. They exude that quiet, confident elegance that I felt from them all day,” photographer Zoe Yates says. “There was this moment they could be together, cuddle and take it all in. Wedding days go by so fast. When you can have quiet moments together, those images are what encapsulate the day best. I love the colors and the blue; the florals match the car so beautifully.”

“The photos with grandma’s car … are my favorites. They exude that quiet, confident elegance that I felt from them all day,” photographer Zoe Yates says. “There was this moment they could be together, cuddle and take it all in. Wedding days go by so fast. When you can have quiet moments together, those images are what encapsulate the day best. I love the colors and the blue; the florals match the car so beautifully.”

What spoke to her and Nelson was the gorgeous Sedona sunset they saw during their engagement trip. Hassanzadeh envisioned a cozy fall day with the warm tones of a Sedona sky in mind—orange, blue, deep rust and blush. Her wedding party dressed in all those hues.

“We had oranges, blues, deep rust and blushes. We had the Sedona sunset colors,” Erin Hassanzadeh says.

“We had oranges, blues, deep rust and blushes. We had the Sedona sunset colors,” Erin Hassanzadeh says.

All they needed was the perfect backdrop. They looked at barns, banquet halls and more. When they walked into the St. Paul College Club, everything fell into place. “There wasn’t a major theme or inspiration as much as we could envision our family and friends mingling there and having a special, memorable experience,” she says. “On the classic side. Effortless but with a sentimental touch.”

A Family Affair

Sentimental and personal touches were thoughtfully woven into their day, from Hassanzadeh’s grandmother’s blue Volkswagen convertible parked out front to photos of their parents and grandparents on their wedding days. Hassanzadeh also incorporated elements from her Persian heritage, including a sugar ceremony, which symbolized sweetening the marriage.

Persian Wedding Details

It was just one of the ways she honored the memory of her father, Mo Hassanzadeh, the owner of TJ’s of Edina. “Both of our dads passed in the year leading up to our wedding, unexpectedly,” she says. “So incorporating that was really important to me. That was something during the wedding where I felt that he was remembered, but it’s also us moving forward with our life.”

Erin Hassanzadeh took the cuff from one of her father’s pink shirts and added some lace detailing to it. “It was what banded my bouquet together,” she says. “He’s there in the bouquet.”

Erin Hassanzadeh took the cuff from one of her father’s pink shirts and added some lace detailing to it. “It was what banded my bouquet together,” she says. “He’s there in the bouquet.”

Her mother, Amy Hassanzadeh, walked her down the aisle, but she made sure her father was with her every step of the way. “I did have a piece of fabric from one of my dad’s shirts stitched into my dress,” she says. “You couldn’t see it, but I knew that it was there. I also had a cuff from one of his shirts. It was what banded my bouquet together. It’s a cuff from his shirt that was pink. He’s there in the bouquet and stitched into the dress.”

As they continue their journey together, the couple’s wedding was not only a celebration of love, but also of family and the people who shaped their lives. “Our friends and family gave heartfelt and sentimental speeches,” Hassanzadeh says. “It was a testament to this being an event not just for us, but for all our loved ones.”

“Bringing in her Persian heritage and doing the sofreh table was special. Watching the women in her family give gifts to the couple and do the sugar ceremony and just the smiles, them sitting there and taking it all in was really sweet to see. Capturing that was an honor and just so beautiful to watch them blend their cultures and make their ceremony everything they wanted it to be,” Zoe Yates says.

“Bringing in her Persian heritage and doing the sofreh table was special. Watching the women in her family give gifts to the couple and do the sugar ceremony and just the smiles, them sitting there and taking it all in was really sweet to see. Capturing that was an honor and just so beautiful to watch them blend their cultures and make their ceremony everything they wanted it to be,” Zoe Yates says.

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