This is a wedding I’ve been looking forward to for YEARS!!! My friends Sam and Idean got married and I could not be more over the moon for them!!!! This is an iconic wedding for me personally because Idean is THE VERY FIRST Lahzeh Photography Client back in 2011 when I took his senior photos and here we are almost 13 years later… I photographed their proposal, engagement, and now WEDDING!
This wedding was a beautiful mix of Persian (Iranian) culture with new American traditions. Sam and Idean’s ceremony took place in front of a traditional Sofreh Aghd (“ceremony spread”). The Sofreh’s intricate elements each have symbolic references. Some of the elements include a mirror, candle, eggs, nuts, spices, honey, coins, etc. The mirror represents bringing light and brightness into the future of the couple. The candles symbolize energy and clarity. Eggs represent fertility and nuts symbolize abundance. Honey represents sweetness for the couple’s life and coins symbolize wealth and prosperity. These are among the many items on the spread. After the Persian part of the ceremony, Sam and Idean transitioned to stand in front of the ‘alter’ (in this case, the spread), and they read private vows before exchanging a kiss. Officially husband and wife, these two continued the celebration through the night! One of the sweetest moments of their day was during the parent dances. Being that Idean is an only child and his dad wouldn’t have the opportunity for a father-daughter dance down the line, Sam surprised everyone with a father-daughter in law dance with him… and it was to a Persian song! Nothing is sweeter than seeing couples share in their partner’s culture, especially on a day like this when they come together as one.
