Marriages in Iran

Or how do we get married? Well, that's a fairy good question. Marriages are being dealt with in tow systems in Iran: first would be the traditional way & the second, the usual (modern) way.
I am not going to talk about the traditional system since it is not that much practiced nowadays or at least in the part of society I am living in. in this way, usually the family is the one who choose the spouse for the child. However if you are interested in knowing the details I would be happy to help.
In the latter method, the person him/herself chooses. Most of the time, the boy & the girl know each other before hand & either had been boyfriend/girlfriend or intimate. & most of the time when they mutually decide they want to share their lives with each other, they inform their families. Family blessing still plays a very important factor in our society & although I know quite some people who eloped to get married, it is not considered a common practice.
Usually the boy's family visit the girl's in a session named KHASTEGARI. This session is borrowed from the traditional system & is aimed for the two families to get to know each other. People typically talk about the whole marriage concept, the place the newly wed would live in, the parties & ceremonies & usual stuff in this session. & it is mostly formalities since mostly the couple had talked about it all before.
The next step is engagement. There would a small party for close relatives at the bride's house & the groom's family brings gifts for the girl & announces the engagement. & the bride & groom change the engagement rings. Some people will have their religious blessing at this ceremony yet others wait till the wedding ceremony to say their vows.
Then it is time for going on a shopping spree for the wedding... buying bridal gown & accessories, the traditional mirror & candle-holders, the wedding rings & other jewelries. In this step it is a tradition that groom would buy the girl's things & the bride would pay for the groom's.
The wedding ceremony is usually held along with the religious vow exchange. & it is generally held at nights. The guest would forbid the couple late at night to their new home & the marriage life begins. The next day, the guests bring in the gifts for bride & groom in PA-TAKHTI, which is a ceremony held at the newly-wed home & then the couple leave for the honey-moon.
In large families, like mine, the post-marriage parties take about a year to be fulfilled, since it is a tradition to invite the newly-wed couples for the first time as PAGOSHA. & yeah, this is the way Iranians get married in a nut-shell.
Well, I must admit I don’t like this kind of approach either. If I am ever to get married, I would take my fiancé's hand & go to a trip & then I would go & live in my own place with him. I hate parties & ceremonies & the way they would be aggregated into galas sometime. & it would leave the bride & groom weary & tired all through the honey-moon.
Forget it... aha! Anyhow did you know that we use the same word for both month & moon in Persian? We call them both: MAH. So the word honey-moon in Persian has a double meaning, it means a month of sweetness too!