We were so fortunate to photograph Mina andGeorge’s Persian wedding on March 14th at TheWaterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel. Despite talk of the spreading CoronaVirus, Mina, George and their family and friends were in good spirits and able to put that aside for the night. Sadly, a couple special family members from overseas were unable to attend, but they were there in everyone’s thoughts. We hope our photos can help them feel closer to the event.

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How They Met:

Mina was working in HR in Irvine, CA when she and George met. George was working for the same company in San Jose, but was sent toIrvine on business.  The two had their first official date in San Jose, when Mina flew out to join him for a Stevie Nicks concert. Clearly the date was a success because ultimately Mina moved to San Jose for George and so ended the long-distance portion of their relationship.

We are so happy these two found each other and made it work despite the distance; they make a beautiful couple and we wish them a joyous life together.

Like Mother like daughter! Mina and her mom are both stunning and so cute together. Her mom is obviously so proud of her daughter, we could see it every time they were together.

We love shooting reveals of any kind, it’s always fun to see reactions. Most commonly we do fist look with the groom or first look with the father of the bride. However, the bridal party first look is also very special! Mina stunned her bridesmaids when they peered around the corner of her hotel room and she presented herself to them.

Shooting the groomsmen is always fun. This group of guys were funny and easily went with the flow of the day. Sounds like they have lots of good stories to tell about their friendship with George, wish we could have heard more.

First look between George and Mina was particular memorable. When George saw his gorgeous bride for the first time, he let out a huge “WOW!”. It was super cute capturing them interacting. One of our favorite moments was when George simply brushed Mina’s hair from her face. Sounds like no big deal, but it just felt like a sweet gesture to us.

The couple was married on the Hilton’s lawn overlooking Huntington Beach in a beautiful Persian ceremony.Possibly one of the most important elements of a traditional Persian Ceremony, the Sofreh Aghd represents elements and blessings for the couple’s new life together.

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A FEW OF THE ITEMS:

Mirror –Representing bringing light and brightness into the future for the married couple.

Candles –Symbolize energy and clarity in the couple’s life together.

Book of Poetry– An open book of Poetry

Sugar Cones –As the couple sits on the mokhaddeh the Torreh ghand (sugar cloth) is extended over them. Happily married members of their family take turns grinding sugar cones together; these happily, marries guests use the Kaleh Ghand toshower the bride and groom with sweetness and pass on a blessing from one generation to the next.

Honey –Throughout a traditional Persian wedding ceremony, sweet items incorporated in the Sofreh Aghd symbolize the sweetness of the union and blessings for a sweet life. As part of the ceremony, the couple feeds each other asal (honey) which represents the continual sweetness and love they will give each other throughout their marriage.

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Mina and Georges Persian wedding had many highlights. We loved seeing Mina’s mother and sister join her and her father during the father daughter dance. It was so nice to see how loving they all were. We also enjoyed watching the Persian wedding tradition of the cake knife dance. When the bride and groom are ready to cut the cake, they have to earn the knife. A family member or friend will begin to dance holding the knife. For Mina and George, the knife passed hands through a few family and friends as they all acted coy passing it along and dancing. Finally satisfied, the newlyweds were handed the knife, for the cake cutting.

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I had to snag a pick of myself with Mina and her Gamma Phi sorority sisters.  As a fellow GammaPhi Beta I fit right in. This traditional sorority pose brought me back to my college days and all the fun I had.

During the reception we snuck away to the 9th floor of the The Twin Dolphin Tower. We found a corner spot at the Offshore 9 Rooftop Lounge, that offers a stunning panoramic view of Huntington Beach and its pier. Here Mina and George had a cute snuggle moment and we were able to get some pretty sunset photos.  Bonus, Danielle and I now know of a great happy hour spot in our future! 

While this was our last wedding before recommendations on social distancing and large gathering were put into place, we are hopeful things will get back to normal soon. We are so thrilled Mina and George got to enjoy their special day and see all their hard planning put to fruition.  There are many of you out there scrambling to re-arrange your weddings or just planning for the future. We want you to know that we are here for you. Feel free to reach out and we can talk to you about your needs and how we can help. We are still taking booking for this year and working to re-arrange current weddings.