We have had several inquiries lately for Persian weddings and we have done quite a few over the years.  I wanted to showcase one of my favorites and  talk a little about what is actually involved in a Persian Wedding. I have always found multi-cultural weddings absolutely thrilling.  This particular wedding drew from Iranian, “American” and Thai traditions (the groom was working in Thailand at the time).

I want to really just focus on the details of what makes a Persian ceremony so wonderful as so many websites do great job of explaining what a sofreh-ye-aqd (or Agdh) is – but rarely have photos!  So for my upcoming engaged couples that are looking for a little more photo action for the “Persian wedding cloth”…here it goes.

There are two stages to a Persian wedding/marriage. The first is called ”Agdh” or “Aqd”, which is the legal process of getting married.  Typically the couple and their parents will sign a contract together. The second stage is the “Jashn-e Aroosi” (the wedding celebrations and festivities).  In Iran, most traditional celebrations can last up to 2 to 7 days!  Let’s just say for simplicity purposes, if you are here in the States, this will most likely only last 4-6 hours!

The ceremony will always have an elaborately decorated cloth on the floor which is called the “Sofreh-ye Aghd” (or “aqd”). You will need to have a bench or a love seat as you must sit close to each other during the ceremony and face east towards the direction of the sun.  When planning your ceremony, you need to make sure you visit your ceremony site at the time of day that your actual ceremony will take place.  This will help in the layout of your sofreh and chairs for guests.  You may have restrictions due to the size and space of your venue.  With the photos seen here at GW River Farm, the couple chose to have their ceremony outside (near their 1st ceremony – which was a mix of Western and Thai traditions).  It is, however, customary to have the sofreh-ye agdh at the bride’s parents’ home.  The arrival of your guests starts the wedding ceremony (so don’t expect it to start on time). This couple was smart by having their western ceremony first as it gave sufficient time for latecomers to be available for the Persian ceremony.  Parents and elders welcome all of the guests and guide them to their seats.  If one of you is not Persian, be sure to take the lead from the Persian side of the wedding.  (Just a note: each family is different in respect to traditions – so be sure to ask what your family can be doing to help or to simply stay away from if you are not the Persian side.)  After all the guests have arrived, the groom takes his place first, before the bride, on the right hand side of the bench or loveseat.  The right side is thought to be a symbol of respect.

The underlying cloth that is spread below all of the elements of the sofreh is generally passed from mother to daughter (or son)  However, you can always start your own tradition with a new cloth!  The cloth is normally made of Cashmere.

Here are the different elements typically displayed on the Sofreh-Ye Agdh:

Mirror (of fate) “Aayeneh-ye Bakht” and two Candelabras (or candles with holders) represent the brightness in your future and are placed on each side of the mirror.  When the bride enters the ceremony, she traditionally has a veil covering her face. This particular bride chose not to do this.  (When having a multi-cultural wedding, rules can typically be bent a little – just be sure to include your parents in the rule breaking before you break them!) Once the bride sits besides her groom, she removes her veil and the first thing that the groom should see (or look for) in the mirror should be the reflection of his wife-to-be.  It is important to note that if you are having a same-sex ceremony, veils do not have to be used, however, the mirror element is important to be able to see a bright future ahead for your marriage.

A tray of seven multi-colored herbs and spices (“Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel”) are artfully displayed to guard the couple and their lives together against the evil eye, witchcraft and to drive away evil spirits. This tray consists of seven elements in seven colors:

Poppy Seeds “Khash-Khaash” (to break spells and witchcraft)
Wild Rice “Berenj”
Angelica “Sabzi Khoshk”
Salt “Namak” (to blind the evil eye)
Nigella Seeds “Raziyaneh”
Black Tea “Chaay”
Frankincense “Kondor” (to burn the evil spirits)

You really need to get family involved when it comes to this – this tray is truly art.  The Persian community does a great job of knowing where to find this artwork and many women in Persian families know how to make the display.

Flatbread (“Noon-e Sangak”) with the  blessing “Mobaarak-Baad” written on it (with saffron, cinnamon or Nigella seeds) symbolizes prosperity  in marriage. A separate platter of the bread with cheese (typically feta) and fresh herbs should be made available to share with the guests after the ceremony (to bring the new couple happiness and prosperity). Be sure to have extra trays of this handy if you are having a large number of guests.  Everyone will want a taste!

A basket or bowl of decorated eggs and decorative glass/bowl or basket of decorated almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility (the more nuts – the better).

A basket of pomegranates and apples for a happy future. Pomegranates are considered heavenly fruits and apples symbolize the divine creation of mankind.  Obviously in certain parts of the world, pomegranates are hard to get and are not available year round.  Consider using dried pomegranates which can be provided for you by your florist or can be found online.  Some people like to use plastic (sorry – I am just not a fan of anything plastic as we are eco-friendly planners and florists here).

A cup of rose water or perfume to perfume the air.

A bowl made out of crystallized sugar “Kaas-e Nabaat/Shaakh-e Nabaat” to sweeten life.

(click on the image to see a larger photo)

A brazier “Manghal” holding burning coals sprinkled with wild rue “Espand”. Wild rue is believed to keep the evil eye away and to bring health. Not all Persian couples use this tradition due to fire hazards and regulations of the properties where they are getting married.

A bowl of gold coins representing wealth and prosperity. (We did one recently where the parents provided all $1 coins – I think it was at least $100 worth! Yeah baby!)

A scarf or shawl made out of silk or any other fine fabric to be held over the couple’s head throughout the ceremony by various happily married female relatives.

Two sugar cones or bells “Kalleh Ghand” made out of hardened sugar to be used during the ceremony. The cones are ground together above the couple’s head (over the scarf held above their heads) throughout the ceremony to shower them in sugar (symbolizing sweetness and happiness).  You need to assign a few people to this task as the ceremony can be lengthy (and one person can get tired quickly)…keep the sugar coming!

A cup or a glass of honey to sweeten life. Immediately after the couple is married they each should dip one pinky finger in the cup of honey and feed it to the other one.  I find this part of the ceremony to be super sexy (as marriage should always be)!

A needle and seven strands of colored thread to figuratively sew up the mother-in-law’s lips from speaking unpleasant words to the bride! The shawl that is held above the couple’s head throughout the ceremony is sewed in one corner by the needle and threads.

A copy of the couple’s Holy Book is placed on the spread which symbolizes God’s blessing for the couple. Some couples use a poetry book instead of a religious holy book.

A prayer carpet/kit is placed in the center of the Sofreh-ye Aghd to remind the couple of the importance of prayer (both in good and bad times).   If you are not religious, you can forgo this element.

An assortment of sweets and pastries to be shared with the guests after the ceremony.  The assortment usually includes: Sugar coated almond strips “Noghl”, Baklava, Mulberry-almond paste made in the shape of mulberries “Tout”, Rice-flour cookies “Noon-Berenji”, Chickpea-flour cookies “Noon-Nokhodchi”, Almond-flour cookies “Noon-Baadoomi” and Honey roasted almonds “Sohaan A’sali”.

I would like to give Farisnet.com and The Persian Mirror a thank you for their wealth of information on Persian weddings.  Some excerpts on this post were taken from these websites to be sure as much accuracy as possible would be provided here.  Please visit these websites for more information on other specific elements of a Persian Wedding.

Another huge thanks goes to Jennifer Domenick of Love Life Images for taking these amazing detail shots for me (and the couple)!

To see more photos from this beautiiful wedding, please see our sister post to this on Wedding Chicks by clicking here!

Happy Persian Wedding Planning!

~Katie Marin

So what was the song that got me so nostalgic?   “Burnin Love” by Dido.  Check out the lyrics by clicking here.

Dido pretty much repeats over and over again – “Without you I’ve been burnin love, you’re the one I have been callin’ for.”

It is a simple song about how we long for the one we love…It was perfect for this couple and I did not even know them.  They were so cute dancing and kissing in each other’s arms.  So here is a toast to the couple! – Katie Martin

You have seen previous posts about the beautiful Adele Wechsler wedding gown that was provided by Promise for the Savvy Bride, but here you will finally get to see the bride in the dress that she chose! Robin Fisher from Polished helped to style the bride and her sister with the best colors and accessories.

Although Earth Day was a very strange weather day, the wedding was beautiful!  Fortunately, the couple had two of our favorite photographers (Love Life Images & Documentary Associates) that took amazing photos for them. The wedding day started off with a quick interview from WJLA Channel 7 at the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church!

We designed the eco-friendly bridal bouquet with blue delphnium, yellow freesia, pink astilbe,  lisianthus and bouvardia.

Videographer Jessica Pi took amazing coverage that I will post shortly!  Elegant Hair by Giselle provided a beautiful natural look for the bride and Carola Myers provided flawless eco-friendly make-up by Korres (which Katie is an avid fan of!).

Utilizing the amazing local Cherry Blossom farmers, Green Love Events was able to display these magnificent blooms in the alcoves going up the stairs to the cocktail hour.

The cocktail hour was hosted upstairs in the museum, complete with mason jars filled with flowers!  The tops of the mason jars were available to the guests at the end of the evening; encouraging guests to reuse the jars for their own use after the wedding!  All of the flowers used for their wedding were grown by local farmers or from Holland’s pesticide free farmers.  All Dutch flowers were flown in on a commercial flight to utilize space otherwise unused by the average consumer on a commercial flight! 

The bride and groom made their way to the reception in a pedicab!

The guests were invited into the Carriage House after the cocktail hour for dinner and dancing.  Here are some of the beautiful details from the tables!  We love billy balls and lisianthus!  Every place setting had a different type of flower tucked into their napkin!

The centerpieces consisted of three vases.  Some tables had pink recycled glass jars (others had orange) accompanied by a flip top container and spice bottle filled with flowers.  The tops for the spice jars were provided to guests at the end of the night and they were able to take the flip top jars to use for anything from holding sugar for their coffee in the morning to saving leftovers!

Evan from MyDeejay.com had everyone dancing all night long to the couples favorite tunes!

Avalon Caterers provided eco-friendly, local and organic cuisine from the cocktail hours through the end of dinner!

 Cakes  by Design provided a beautiful eco-friendly cake complete with fresh local raspberries and decor that can be reused again and again!

The bride’s Scottish heritage brought forth the bagpiper at the church and the the beautiful custom-designed Korean Korum Bow on the bride’s gown was a fantastic addition to celebrate the groom’s culture.

Of course,  the snapshot studio from Love Life Images was a hit!

Last but not least, the entire wedding was carbon neutral with a carbon offset purchased by Elegance & Simplicity  from Carbonfund.org!

Elegance & Simplicity also provided all wedding stationery (which was all post-consumer waste recycled paper) and calligraphy.  The stationery included wedding invitations, escort cards and programs.  Elegance & Simplicity provided the couple with a logo and a logo sign to be reused by the couple as personal decor.  All leftover flowers were either taken by the family or composted by Elegance & Simplicity.  The discarded programs and escort cards were recycled by Elegance & Simplicity.  Leftover food was packed up for the bride and groom and their families at the end of the evening by Avalon Caterers.  Avalon Caterers made sure that all of their staff either carpooled or took Metro to the event.  Ask your wedding professionals how they can make a eco-friendly difference in your wedding day!  Check out all of the green wedding professionals in the consortium by clicking here!

Congratulations to our 2009 Green Wedding Giveaway Couple!

1st thing – hire a wedding planner that knows who is really green and who is not.  There are a ton of wedding professionals that say they are green for marketing purposes but have no concept of what the philosophy is behind being green.  It is not just about using green products and organic foods.  It is also about giving back to the community and not being wasteful along with a slew of other guidelines depending on the type of wedding professional that you are looking for.  As a wedding planner and a florist, I see a sea of waste after a wedding and it is always our goal to reduce waste before it happens and reuse, compost or recycle what is not not used or wasted after a wedding.  We can give you creative ideas on how to do that for your wedding.  There is not a formula for a green wedding – it is more about your general attitude towards your wedding prior to the planning process.  Find like-minded vendors to go with your philosophy as you start your life together!

If you can’t afford a wedding planner (or think you can’t) – make sure you read as much as you can before get started! 

I tip my hat to those that are really interested in doing it right!  Check back often for weekly green tips!

Today, Owner Katie Martin of Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. was interviewed on Channel 8′s Let’s Talk Live about Green Wedding Tips:

http://www.letstalklive.tv/ – Click on the link for Katie Martin

The Washington DC Couture Wedding Consortium Bridal Show is already having a huge following!  See Katie Martin live on News Channel 8 as she announces all of the wedding professionals that will be providing eco-friendly wedding services and goods for the Free $50,000 Green Wedding Giveaway!

Register for the show here:

http://www.dccwc.com/2009bridalshow.htm

1st 100 brides receive a goody bag filled with discounts and gifts!

At 2pm we will be giving away door prizes!

At 3:30 we will announce the winners of the green wedding giveaway!

Stay tuned for more details!