bride & groom wedding pictures at Aga Khan Museum in Toronto

Aga Khan Museum Wedding | Toronto, ON 

Bringing Persian culture into a wedding just 15 minutes from downtown Toronto is a unique experience I was lucky to be a part of this summer. For Nilou and Kody, their wedding at the Aga Khan Museum brought the beauty of Persian culture into Canada and they enjoyed their beautiful wedding day. 

As a Toronto wedding photographer, I think this location truly has one-of-a-kind architecture that offers very unique insights and perspectives into Islamic culture and civilizations. For Persian Canadians, this is a great place to have your wedding as it combines Persian traditions and culture into one place for everyone to enjoy and explore. 

With on-site catering provided by Chef Mark McEwan this is the perfect place to host an intimate or large wedding. 

The Aga Khan Museum has masterpieces of art to showcase the award winning architectural design by Fumihiko Maki. There is nothing like this space in the entire province, maybe even country.

Wedding Photoshoot | Aga Khan Museum, Toronto

We started the day with a first look followed by a wedding photoshoot of the bride and groom at Aga Khan grounds.

Persian Indoor Wedding Ceremony | Lapis Lounge, Aga Khan Museum

Getting married here means you can follow Persian traditions, just like Nilou and Kody did. While they were initially meant to have an outdoor wedding ceremony, they had to move their ceremony inside although the venue was completely able to accommodate for this and the couple was able to continue their ceremony without issue. 

Before the ceremony, which took place in the Lapis Lounge, the bride walked down the aisle accompanied by her father. Her face will be covered by a light veil until she says “Yes” – agreeing to marrying her groom. It is only after she agrees that her veil will be lifted and the groom reveals her face to their guests. 

To begin the ceremony, the bride and groom sat behind the sofreh – a cloth in which food is served. In a wedding, the sofreh may also have symbolic items on them like mirrors, candles, bread/wheat and honey. 

Next, the family members will hold a white cloth over the bride and groom’s head while married women who are in attendance will grind sugar canes onto the cloth. These sugar canes were on the sofreh when the ceremony started, and showering the couple with sugar is meant to symbolize sweetness and happiness for a long life together. 

From there, the officiant led the couple in exchanging their vows and saying I do – which was a great way to combine Persian culture with Canadian traditions and the couple made this wedding day exactly what they wanted it to be. 

Traditionally, guests would present gifts to the bride and groom directly after the ceremony at the sofreh however this isn’t as common in modern day weddings. Many guests now will follow the Canadian custom of bringing a card to give to the couple and leave it in a card box at the venue. 

Cocktails at Courtyard and Reception at Diwan Restaurant

After the ceremony guests were invited to enjoy the cocktails at Courtyard. Reception was held at Aga Khan’s restaurant – Diwan. This extraordinary space overlooks Aga Khan gardens and allows the guests to enjoy the view through open glass walls.

Iranian wedding culture has so many unique pieces that it really is something to experience – at least once in your life. The Aga Khan Museum is a premium Toronto wedding venue and it allows for Iranian Canadians to truly bring their cultures and traditions for weddings to a beautiful space with art pieces that celebrate the Iranian culture. 

If you are looking for a wedding venue in Toronto to embrace and celebrate Iranian culture and art, while giving your guests an experience they will never forget you should consider hosting an Aga Khan wedding. 

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