A Romantic Persian Wedding in Vancouver

Arash and Rawmina's first date was at a restaurant, where they hung out for several hours talking and laughing. "We met the old fashioned way—through online dating!" Rawmina jokes. "Arash says he knew I was kind when I offered my beverage for him to taste, and I knew he was sweet when he insisted on walking me to my car despite the rain and the fact that it was nowhere near his train."

For their wedding, the couple wanted a relaxed, welcoming vibe where their guests could mingle and enjoy the festivities without worrying about being too formal. When it came to decor didn't have a specific colour palette, but kept soft, romantic pastel colours in mind when designing their sofreh aghd (Persian wedding ceremony table). "Our moms helped to create and design the sofreh aghd," Rawmina shares. "They grew the pomegranates and incense at home to decorate the table with, retrieved items from Iran to add an authentic touch and hand-sewed the toor (sheet held over the bride and groom's heads) with a loving inscription for us—these personal touches filled our ceremony with that much more love and meaning."

At their reception, the newlyweds winged their first dance. "We had zero practice, and we were of course a bit nervous because all eyes were on us," Rawmina says. "Despite those nerves, Arash decided to incorporate some big moves into our dance—on the fly!" We had dips, twirls, spins and everything in between and while we were not the most coordinated, it was fantastic. Our friends and family were entertained, and we had the best time making the moves up as we went!"

The couple had a raghseh chagoo (knife dance) before cutting their wedding cake. "It's a Persian tradition in which the bride and groom essentially must earn the knife to cut the cake," Rawmina explains. "They do this by having close family and friends dance with the knife while the groom pays them money for the knife. It's always a highlight of Iranian wedding because it is an event that has tons of dancing and excitement! We had so many people participate including both of our mothers, our brother-in-law, cousins and family friends that the groom almost ran out of money!"

Rawmina Keshavarzi and Arash Jamalian, August 17, 2019, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Photography courtesy of Jamie Delaine.

Vendors
Venue: Brock House Restaurant
Bridal gown: BoLee Bridal Couture
Day-of coordinator: Alexa Krantz of Dream Group Productions
Hair & makeup: Jane Zhang of The Love Team Makeup and Hair
Flowers: Bloom Assembly
Cake: A. Elizabeth Cakes
Favours: Etsy
Music: Musical Occasions