“It is wonderful to have a complete record of everything that took place on the day. Having seen your previous work, we had high expectations and they’ve been exceeded by some magnitude.”Azi and Andrew
I‘m fascinated by wedding ceremonies of every kind, particularly those involving different faiths and cultures. Azi and Andrew’s ceremony day at my favourite One Great George Street wedding venue, was a gentle collision of English and Persian rituals. Azi got ready at her parent’s London home, which is full of precious memorabilia of their dual lives here in the UK and back home in Iran. As always, there was a slow and steady start, with a galloping finish to get Azi to the venue on time. Andrew was dressed in his classic English suit, with dashes of pink here and there – Turnbull and Asser tie, braces and socks to be precise.
Azi’s uncle led her up the aisle, and as their guests rose to applaud her arrival, the aisle became a spontaneous dance floor – it looked like she wouldn’t get to Andrew’s side after all! It all ended happily, and the Iranian wedding ceremony began. In the aghd portion of the wedding, the ceremony begins with the groom seated in front of the guests. In front of them is the sofreyé aghd, a table which contains several highly symbolic items. Above his head is a canopy held by female family members or female members of the bridal party. Very different to an English wedding, there is lots of laughter and applause throughout, honey is exchanged by the couple on fingertips, and of course rings and kisses are involved too. Later on, Andrew had to part with hard earned cash to get the cake knife out of the hands of some beautiful dancing women!
Here is their story.
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