Seyed Mahmoud Sedhi | Legal

Seyed Mahmoud Sedhi | Aghed, Persian wedding Legal Wedding (Aghd), Sofreh Aghd Los Angeles

also known as Persian wedding in the Western countries, traditions go back to the ancient Zoroastrian tradition, despite their local and regional variations.

Though the concepts and theory of the marriage have been changed drastically by Islamic traditions, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in the ancient Iranian culture. Persian Legal Wedding 

Although Iran is a multi-ethnic country, Iranian wedding traditions are observed by the majority of ethnic groups in Iran and neighboring countries and regions.

The Legal Wedding (Aghd)At least two weddings generally take place. The legal wedding is first. The cultural Persian wedding (with the Sofreh Aghd wedding table) is generally the second. A legal wedding can be purely secular but often is celebrated in the religious custom of the couple. Meaning the first wedding can be anything from a courthouse ceremony with a judge, to a full-scale religious ceremony.

Imagine also that they met and live in Los Angeles, California. They will have a Persian wedding as so far described in this book because they are Iranian, and this is how Iranians do it! But to have a legal union recognized by the United States government under which they presently live, they will have to follow up (or precede) their Persian wedding celebrations with a signing of American legal documents establishing their marriage legally in that nation. There may also be a ceremony in an Orthodox Christian church to seal the union in the eyes of that church for the bride and her family. There may be another ceremony in a mosque to seal the union in the eyes of Islam.

This wedding is called Aghd in Farsi. It is the legal Aghd. As I pointed out earlier, the Persian wedding is a cultural ceremony; it is not considered a legal ceremony[1]. Thus, the legal Aghd is important in officially, legally sealing the union. Now in terms of Persian marriage practices, imagine that an Iranian bride who is an Orthodox Christian wishes to marry an Iranian groom who is a Muslim.

Legal ceremonies are generally far smaller and far faster. This ease may very well become a refreshing opportunity to slow down and enjoy a quiet, private time in front of 50 close family and friends instead of 500 at the main wedding. My husband and I had a separate small traditional American wedding with 35 guests in Muskogee, Oklahoma out in the country. It was so peaceful and beautiful to have a simple affair in front of our closest friends and family.

It’s wonderful to experience both the massive wedding affair and also the quiet family-only ceremony as well. Although it’s nice to slow down and have a small ceremony there are actual historical reasons traditionally why there are two separate weddings which we will briefly explore.

Seyed Mahmoud Sedhi