PERSIAN WEDDINGS IN SPAIN

A Persian wedding in Spain keeps the Sofreh Aghd at its centre and builds the rest of the day around it, with dinner and dancing to follow. Vanessa Serrani plans Persian weddings between Barcelona and the Catalan coast, on a beach, on a clifftop above the Costa Brava or in a city hotel, for couples who live in Iran, Europe, the United States or Spain itself.

The Sofreh Aghd is the Persian wedding ceremony, named after the spread laid out for it. A mirror and candelabra face the couple, joined by sugar cones, honey, bread with a blessing, eggs, nuts, coins, herbs, fruit and flowers, each one a wish for light, sweetness, fertility or prosperity. The couple sit before the spread while close relatives hold a cloth above them and rub sugar cones over it. The officiant asks for their consent, and the bride is traditionally asked more than once before she answers.

Which items appear, who holds the cloth and how the ceremony is worded vary between families, regions and faiths, so the families’ own customs lead and the plan follows them. For the full sequence and what each step means, read our guide to Persian wedding traditions.

The spread is laid at floor level, so the ceremony needs a flat, stable surface, space for the couple to sit facing the mirror and guests gathered close enough to see. Outdoors, the candles need shelter from the wind. The ceremony gets its own slot in the schedule, and someone has to set up and dress the spread before the guests arrive, often with a decorator who knows the items or a relative who does.

Vanessa builds the day around what the families want and fits it to the venue. The ritual stays the same on a beach, on a clifftop or in a hotel in Barcelona.

Yes. It needs a flat surface, space for the spread and guests close by, and a slot in the schedule, which a beach, a clifftop or a city hotel can all provide. See beach weddings, Barcelona weddings and Costa Brava and Empordà weddings for the settings Vanessa works in.

No. The mirror and the candelabra are constant, but the other items and the way the spread is dressed differ between regions and families. Vanessa asks the families what they want and plans from there.

Yes. The Sofreh Aghd can sit alongside a second ceremony on the same day, followed by dinner and dancing. For weddings that blend two traditions, see multicultural weddings.

Vanessa also plans Chinese weddings, Indian weddings and Jewish weddings, and celebrations that bring two traditions together, see her multicultural weddings service.