Top 7 Best Persian Wedding Officiants in 2026
A Persian wedding officiant does far more than lead the vows. The right Aghed understands the meaning and pacing of the Sofreh Aghd, can move naturally between Farsi and English, knows how to explain Persian traditions to non-Iranian guests, and gives the ceremony warmth without turning it into a generic script. The seven officiants below were selected for their Persian wedding specialization, bilingual capability, ceremony experience, professional presence, and ability to serve modern, traditional, multicultural, and destination celebrations.
Orange County & Southern California
1. Morteza Mohtashami
Morteza Mohtashami is a dedicated bilingual Persian wedding officiant serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and surrounding Southern California communities. His practice is built specifically around Iranian-American ceremonies, with Farsi and English delivery designed to keep both Persian-speaking relatives and non-Persian guests fully included in the Aghd.
His service goes beyond simply reading a ceremony script. Mohtashami describes a thoughtful, personalized approach and provides an Aghd Nameh in Persian calligraphy as part of his wedding service. Couples looking for a traditional Persian ceremony with clear bilingual communication and an officiant whose entire professional identity centers on Persian weddings should put him at the top of the list.
Orange County & California
2. Alireza Ghadaksaz · Aghayeh Aghed
Alireza Ghadaksaz, widely known as Aghayeh Aghed, is one of Southern California’s established Persian wedding officiants. His ceremonies are designed for Iranian-American couples who want Farsi, English, or a combination of both, and his background in Persian literature, poetry, history, and traditional wedding rituals is a central part of his presentation.
Ghadaksaz also provides Persian marriage certificates and works closely with Sofreh Aghd services, giving couples a more integrated ceremony experience. His website states that he is qualified as a Deputy Commissioner of Marriages in California and can handle the legal registration of the marriage when the required license is presented, making him especially useful for couples who want cultural and administrative details handled in one place.
Washington, D.C. · Miami · Destination
3. Mahin Huschmand · Persian Ceremony
Mahin Huschmand brings a distinctive combination of cultural depth, formal presence, and long experience to Persian wedding ceremonies. Born in Tehran and educated in archaeology and art at the University of Tehran, she has officiated around 200 weddings and works in fluent Farsi, English, or German for couples who want the ceremony to feel accessible to a diverse guest list.
Her approach is especially strong for couples who want Persian history, poetry, and symbolism explained with warmth rather than delivered as a rigid script. Huschmand tailors ceremonies around the couple’s cultural and spiritual backgrounds and works with clients on everything from short contemporary ceremonies to longer, more traditional Aghd presentations.
San Francisco Bay Area & Destination
4. Roya Soleimani Winner · Winner Weddings
Roya Soleimani Winner specializes in Persian and multicultural ceremonies across the Bay Area and destination markets. A second-generation Iranian American and ordained non-denominational minister, she has created ceremonies for more than 60 couples and is particularly skilled at weddings where Persian traditions need to blend naturally with another culture, language, or family background.
Winner’s strength is ceremony writing and storytelling. She creates personalized bilingual scripts, incorporates Persian poetry and rituals where appropriate, and helps couples shape vows and ceremony flow so the result feels personal rather than generic. For Persian-American and fusion weddings, she is one of the strongest modern officiant options in Northern California.
San Francisco Bay Area & Worldwide
5. Nilou Nouri · Nilou Weddings
Nilou Nouri is an award-winning officiant and ordained minister whose broader wedding background also includes planning, design, and Sofreh Aghd work. That combination gives her an unusually complete understanding of how the Persian ceremony fits into the wedding day as a whole—from the Sofreh and family traditions to timing, music, and the transition into the reception.
Nilou specializes in Persian and Iranian weddings as well as fusion and mixed ceremonies, and her client reviews repeatedly highlight her ability to make the ceremony inclusive for both Persian and non-Persian families. She is a particularly strong choice for couples who want one culturally fluent professional who understands ceremony content and the surrounding wedding production.
Washington, D.C. · DMV · Worldwide
6. Elmira Jafari · Nabat Persian Weddings
Elmira Jafari is a bilingual Farsi-English officiant behind Nabat Persian Weddings, based in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region and available for destination ceremonies. Her background includes more than 20 years in international journalism and documentary filmmaking, which translates naturally into confident delivery, voice control, and a strong storytelling sensibility.
Jafari builds custom ceremonies around the couple’s own story and can weave Persian poetry, Sofreh Aghd traditions, family rituals, and modern readings into the script. Nabat also publishes clear ceremony collections and destination options, making it one of the more polished and transparent newer officiant brands for Persian couples planning outside California.
Chicago Area & Destination
7. Negar · Universal Vows
Negar of Universal Vows specializes in Iranian and cross-cultural weddings and brings an unusually strong cultural-education background to officiating. With a PhD from Northwestern University and more than two decades of leadership in a nonprofit dedicated to Persian language and Iranian culture, she approaches ceremonies with a deep understanding of heritage, identity, and the needs of multicultural families.
She is fluent in Persian and English and offers traditional, modern, spiritual, secular, and cross-cultural ceremony formats. Universal Vows is a strong option for couples who want a ceremony that respects Persian traditions while feeling inclusive, contemporary, and carefully adapted to their own beliefs and relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
What couples should know before hiring a Persian wedding officiant.
What does a Persian wedding officiant do?
A Persian wedding officiant leads the marriage ceremony, guides the couple through the Aghd traditions, coordinates the spoken portions of the Sofreh Aghd, and helps guests understand the meaning of the rituals. Depending on the officiant, the service may also include custom scriptwriting, rehearsal support, marriage-license signing, and an Aghd Nameh or Persian marriage certificate.
Should our Persian wedding officiant speak both Farsi and English?
For many Iranian-American and multicultural weddings, bilingual delivery is one of the most valuable qualities an officiant can offer. It allows Persian-speaking parents and grandparents to experience the ceremony naturally while helping English-speaking guests understand the symbolism, poetry, and vows.
What is the difference between an Aghed and a wedding officiant?
Aghed is the Persian term commonly used for the person conducting the Aghd marriage ceremony. In the United States, couples also need to make sure the person signing the marriage license is legally authorized in the state where the wedding takes place. Many Persian officiants perform both roles, but couples should confirm this directly before booking.
Can a Persian officiant perform a multicultural or fusion ceremony?
Yes. Several officiants on this list specialize in ceremonies that combine Persian traditions with American, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, East Asian, or other cultural backgrounds. A skilled officiant can decide where translations, poetry, family rituals, and explanations belong so the ceremony feels unified rather than divided into separate parts.
Can we customize the Persian wedding ceremony script?
Usually yes. Modern Persian officiants often work with couples to decide how traditional or contemporary the ceremony should feel, which poems or readings to include, how much Farsi and English to use, whether to explain each Sofreh ritual, and how personal vows should fit into the Aghd.
How long does a Persian wedding ceremony usually take?
The length depends on the traditions included and how much translation or explanation the couple wants. A streamlined modern ceremony can be relatively short, while a bilingual ceremony with poetry, family participation, sugar grinding, honey exchange, vows, and detailed cultural explanations will naturally take longer.
Does the officiant provide the Sofreh Aghd?
Usually not automatically. Some officiants are connected to Sofreh design companies or offer related services, while others focus only on the ceremony. Confirm whether the Sofreh, symbolic items, florals, setup, and teardown are separate services.
Will the officiant attend our rehearsal?
Some packages include a rehearsal and others do not. A rehearsal can be especially useful for multicultural ceremonies, large wedding parties, family-led Sofreh rituals, and events where the officiant needs to coordinate closely with the planner and DJ on music cues and microphones.
How far in advance should we book a Persian wedding officiant?
Popular Persian officiants can book well in advance for spring, summer, and fall Saturdays. Once your date and location are firm, it is smart to contact your preferred officiants early, particularly if you need a specific language combination or a destination wedding.
What should we ask before hiring a Persian wedding officiant?
Ask how many Persian ceremonies they have performed, whether they work in Farsi and English, how they customize the script, whether they legally solemnize the marriage in your wedding state, what is included in the fee, whether rehearsal is available, and how they coordinate with the Sofreh designer, planner, DJ, and photographer.