Rooftop Wedding in North Vancouver

This special Persian wedding in North Vancouver was full of emotion, colour, energy – and the most beautiful vows we have ever heard.

The bridal couple agreed that of all the places they could have a wedding in North Vancouver, they’d like to host their dreamy, intimate ceremony on the groom’s parents’ rooftop! That way, they could put Vancouver on display for their guests, with an incredible backdrop of the city’s green mountains.

Being very connected to their Iranian roots, but also to the landscape of Vancouver, the couple planned their Persian wedding to include many elements of this incredible city – from a romantic pre-wedding first look at each other in the forest, to colourful floral arrangements and a modern Sofreh set-up. This spread (which is traditionally laid out for a Persian wedding ceremony) included symbolic and sentimental elements, such as the groom’s grandfather’s old poetry book, baklavas made by the bride’s mother and a vintage handmade silver mirror brought in from Iran.

Instead of feeling like any other North Vancouver wedding, this meant that the day truly felt like an Iranian wedding – and felt like their own. The bride even handmade stationery for the special day, and also collected and pressed the wildflowers that were on the wedding cake. (She has since started a small business called Bloomist – creating wedding stationery with pressed flowers and preserving bridal bouquets!)

Of the many traditional wedding customs incorporated on the day, we loved witnessing the honey exchange and the knife dance – both typical of a Persian wedding – as well as a live accordion performance which brought everyone together singing songs from childhood.

And, for their first dance, the bride (who is of Azeri descent) recreated a traditional dance routine that she used to dance as a little girl, while the groom got prepared with the help of a choreographer. One of the greatest privileges of being the photographers for this Persian wedding was being able to witness this moment. This fun surprise for the families and guests made this North Vancouver wedding all the more memorable for us.