A Modern Eclectic Persian Wedding At The SLS Beverly Hills In Beverly Hills, California

Sara and Shadfar met during an annual ski trip organized by one of their mutual friends. After about two-and-a-half years of dating, their proposal took place via a traditional Persian khastegari. Shadfar’s family brought the ring to Sara’s parents’ house, along with several other gifts; and after a series of touching speeches, Shadfar asked for permission to marry their daughter.

Two months after their engagement, Sara enlisted the help of one of her friends, wedding planner Golnaz Farpour, for the wedding planning process. The SLS Beverly Hills Hotel was her venue of choice, as it would reflect her eclectic and modern taste.

 Her vision for the wedding was to have “the first modern Persian wedding in the area.” Sara’s favorite part of the preparations, however, was the food tasting, dress shopping, and the design process–the menus, ceremony décor, reception favors, and invitations were even designed by her, personally.

The big day was met with beautiful summer weather. For the ceremony, the groom’s youngest niece brought out the “esfand,” which is a symbol of air cleansing in preparation for the bride and groom’s arrival. The aisle was decorated with Lucite boxes and floral, gold, and silver balls. Complete with a modern sofreh design, they had a beautiful Persian ceremony. 

While guests were enjoying their cocktail hour and collecting their wedding favors–a mixture of sugar candies, silver Jordan almonds, and gold coins–the newlyweds stole a sneak peek at their finished ballroom. The wedding theme was based on a Persian poem by Hafez, which translates into “Rose petals let us scatter and fill the cup with red wine; the firmaments let us shatter and come with a new design.” To further punctuate their theme, the poem was etched into custom wine glasses at each place setting, which guests were able to take home with them. 

Inspiration was also drawn from an “east meets west” concept. The décor included ivory and gold colors, silver accents, mirrors, and embellishments with a touch of apple green. Three different centerpiece designs adorned the tables of the ballroom. The largest arrangement was a tall ring of orchids and hydrangea with hanging orbs, gold and silver balls, and a bed of flowers at the bottom with two golden lovebirds. 

Once the reception began, the bride and groom took the dance floor for an upbeat dance set to a Persian song by their wedding singer, Farshid Amin and his band. The couple and their guests danced for over an hour before sitting down to a customized three-course plated dinner from Jose Andre’s kitchen, served alongside a traditional Persian Shirin Polo (a sweet rice dish) from Bahador Catering. A buffet of desserts from the SLS Beverly Hills pastry kitchen was also set up in the foyer.

By the end of their wedding day, the newlyweds were both excited to begin their new journey together. Although they were tired and blistered from so much dancing, they were relieved and beyond happy that all of their hard work had come together perfectly.