Monday, May 07, 2007

Ni and Reza : Wedding

The sounds of Farsi filled the air, while the smells of Vietnamese spring rolls floated through the living room. A cacophany of voices filled the air while aunts, uncles, and cousins prepared for the tea ceremony. When the limo arrived, Reza’s Persian family debarked bearing gifts and passed through tunnel of Vietnamese greetings and hugs. As Ni descended the staircase as a tearful bride, Persian sugar rained down on her. When Ni and Reza saw each other for the first time as bride and groom, they held each other tightly while Ni cried tears of joy. On one side of the room stood one family looking directly across at the other, and the two souls in the center joined them in love.

Love transcends language. This was extraordinarily evident during Sunday’s wedding as neither family spoke English. Reza and Ni would flip back and forth between their native tongue and America’s lengua franca, filling in the translation gaps will laughter and smiles. A simple handshake, or hug, or three kisses on the cheek made up for traditional communication, but where there were no words, there was love. True and unadulterated love. A love that punctuated sentences and completed silent paragraphs.

JD and I were so moved to be part of such an amazing wedding day and heart-warming ceremony…we walked away from the day knowing that love has no tongue, but takes the form of a touch and a smile.

Here are a few of my favorites…




Ni was looking out from an upstairs window as her groom met the family outside...




Ni grandfather delivered a speech in Vietnamese, but at the very end looked down at a crumpled piece of paper and recited a sentence of congratulations in English...everyone cheered and this was his reaction...


As the group was walking toward the videographer, Ni stepped on her dress and started falling, but was carried along by an unknowing bridal party and groom...her face says it all! :)


After the tea ceremony, the wedding reception was held at the fabulous Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood Hills...it was awesome!!



A cool view of Los Angeles...





To see more of their wedding images, CLICK HERE for a slideshow!


**On a personal note, I want to thank Reza and Ni for making JD and me truly feel like family. Everything from the shrimp springs rolls silently passed our way, to the Vietnamese pastries, to the saffron rice and pitas, to the amazing limo ride and Persian music…everything felt like family. Thank you for forcing us to put cameras away at the end of the night and raise serpentine arms along side you and dance to Persian music like no one was watching. We loved every minute of it and thank you for becoming our friends!**

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15 Comments:

Blogger Fed said...

The photos are BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for posting these.... we have our first traditional Asian wedding, and we were worried about shooting in their livingroom. But now we know that you can get great photos no matter where you are!

6:26 PM  
Blogger gabriel ryan said...

wow jasmine... from the outside, looking in, it is apparent that ni and reza invited you into their family. the moments captured are intimate and your words, as usual, eloquently accent the images.

8:09 PM  
Blogger nicole green said...

what a super cute couple! your images are soo great! :D i want my reception there (when that day comes haha)! it looks amazing. :)

8:37 PM  
Blogger Emily DeWan Photography said...

I LOVE that shoe shot!!! So fabulous.

10:15 PM  
Blogger Will Parris said...

UH-MAZE-ING! Great work Jasmine, the shoe shot, the second to last... all of them!! Great work!!

8:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

These pictures are fabulous! You're work as well as your clients are beautiful...J Ü

10:42 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Your wedding is beautiful Jasmine, As allways. Love your work.

1:39 PM  
Blogger Trista said...

Love the shoe shot! Beautiful as always Jasmine :-)

11:53 PM  
Blogger Steven Kang said...

1st pic of the shoe is awesome. Other pics goes without saying. It's awesome.

11:59 PM  
Blogger 6 of Four Creations said...

BEAUTIFUL! I love the tea shot. So cool.

kt

5:17 AM  
Blogger Christine Farah Photography said...

What a great intro to the pictures. Beautiful images....you are a great storyteller.

2:06 PM  
Blogger Dawn Shields said...

Beautiful work Jasmine!

3:42 PM  
Blogger DrewB said...

That shoe shot is AMAZING!

4:59 PM  
Blogger Lisa said...

Wow...I need to quit coming to your blog...it always makes me cry and I ruin my mascara! You have such an amazing gift. thanks for sharing it with us!
Take care
Lisa :)

10:23 PM  
Anonymous Wedding Photography Colchester Essex said...

The shoe shot for me - great shot.

Please see my blog

http://tonysalephotographyblog.wordpress.com/

12:09 AM  

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