Erica & Merdad's Courtyard at Lake Lucerne Wedding

Courtyard at Lake Lucerne Wedding

Erica and Merdad tied the knot during their Courtyard at Lake Lucerne wedding in Orlando, Florida. Their vision for their big day was centered around a cultural ceremony followed by formal portraits with their friends and family, along with tons of dancing!

College Sweethearts

Love began for Erica and Merdad when the two met at the University of Central Florida back in 2014. At the time Merdad was pursuing his PhD in Civil Engineering and Erica her Masters in Environmental Engineering. The two had mutual friends who brought them together, which soon led to a lasting love. After two years of dating, Merdad proposed to Erica on their second anniversary in Winter Park, Florida.

An Iranian Wedding at the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne

Wedding day felt like a dream – my couple was so laid back and just enjoyed every moment! Arriving a bit early, I walked in with Erica to the venue, to capture her getting in her dress before officially starting with newlywed portraits followed by family portraits and their Iranian ceremony.

It was so nice to have a moment alone with my couple before bringing in family and friends. Taking place outside in the courtyard behind their ceremony site, the sun sparkled in through the trees and was the perfect location for the backdrop of formal portraits. Once formals were wrapped up, Erica and Merdad greeted guests coming in to their ceremony.

With the help of Merdad’s sisters who created a luxurious table for their ceremony, the two tied the knot during their small Sofreh Aghd Iranian ceremony underneath the gazebo in the courtyard at the Courtyard of Lake Lucerne. Guests gathered into the gazebo and around the couple, as their officiant read from scripture and formally asked them both of their agreement to marriage. Sugar was sprinkled on top of a sheer cloth above the couple as a symbol of the sweetness their love is and will be between them in the future.

After the two agreed to marriage, shared a first kiss, we stayed underneath the gazebo for each guest to take a picture with Erica and Merdad. Once all photos were captured, Erica and Merdad enjoyed cocktail hour with their guests before their reception entrance soon ensued.

Toasts by Erica and Merdad’s family brought laughter and tears to the eyes of their guests as they enjoyed listening about the two’s love story and how they became a couple. Erica’s dad chatted about the time he first met Erica’s “friend” Merdad at a science event who was very interested in learning about what he did, which her dad than jokingly followed up with now understanding afterwards why he was so interested!

Dancing followed dining, with a few surprises in store. Some traditional and new age Iranian music accompanied the latest hits, which was a treat for all of the guests to enjoy in the cultural music. Additionally my favorite surprise of the night came from Erica and Merdad’s friends who literally out of nowhere jumped out and started dancing with cutout faces of my couple – seriously hilarious and Merdad and Erica were not expecting it whatsoever!

A big congratulations to my two sweethearts on both their marriage and move to Texas! Wishing you a lifetime of love!